TLDR
- Franklin Templeton has completed its acquisition of 250 Digital, a crypto firm spun out of CoinFund in early 2026
- The deal created a new division called Franklin Crypto, led by Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns
- Part of the acquisition was paid using BENJI tokens — tokenized shares of Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Government Money Fund
- Franklin Templeton’s tokenized assets have grown from $768 million to over $2.5 billion in the past year
- The division will target pensions, sovereign wealth funds, and large institutional allocators
Franklin Templeton has closed its acquisition of 250 Digital and launched a new business unit called Franklin Crypto, marking one of the clearest moves yet by a major asset manager into institutional cryptocurrency investing.
⚡️$1.6T FRANKLIN TEMPLETON LAUNCHES "FRANKLIN CRYPTO"
Franklin Templeton completed its acquisition of crypto investment firm 250 Digital and officially launched Franklin Crypto.
The new division will focus on actively managed digital asset strategies for institutional… pic.twitter.com/njx7t0FW4L
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) June 22, 2026
The deal was first announced in April 2026. 250 Digital was formed at the start of 2026 as a spinout from CoinFund, which chose to focus on venture investing and carved out its liquid crypto strategies into a separate firm.
Christopher Perkins, who led 250 Digital, will now head Franklin Crypto. Seth Ginns, the firm’s chief investment officer, carries that title into the new division. Both spent years at CoinFund before the spinout.
Franklin Templeton did not disclose the full financial terms of the deal. However, part of the consideration was paid using BENJI tokens — the on-chain representation of its Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund.
That makes this one of the first major mergers and acquisitions in financial services to be settled using tokenized fund shares rather than cash or traditional securities.
What Franklin Crypto Will Do
The new division is aimed at institutional investors including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, and large asset allocators. It will offer actively managed cryptocurrency strategies across liquid token markets, venture exposure, and structured products tied to blockchain infrastructure.
Franklin Templeton said the unit combines the investment capabilities of the former 250 Digital team with the firm’s global distribution network, which spans more than 35 countries.
The firm manages approximately $1.78 trillion in assets overall.
Franklin Templeton’s Growing Digital Asset Footprint
Franklin Crypto is the latest step in a broader push into digital assets by the firm. In February, Franklin Templeton partnered with Binance to let institutional investors use tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for crypto trading.
In March, the company partnered with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized ETFs on blockchain networks.
Last week, the firm proposed two ETFs that would reinvest stock dividends into Bitcoin-linked investments, creating a hybrid product spanning equities and digital assets.
Franklin Templeton’s tokenized assets have grown from around $768 million in June 2025 to more than $2.5 billion today, according to RWA.xyz data.
The broader tokenized asset market has also grown, rising from about $11.8 billion to $32.2 billion over the past year.
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson has previously stated that blockchain puts pressure on Wall Street’s fee structures. The firm filed for a Bitcoin ETF years before institutional demand caught up.
The 250 Digital acquisition gives Franklin Templeton its own dedicated crypto leadership team and investment operation, rather than simply wrapping digital assets inside existing fund products.
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