Wall Street enters the arena! Franklin Templeton launches a new fund, investing in digital currencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum

Franklin Templeton, named after the founding father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, is planning to launch a new cryptocurrency fund. According to sources, the fund will invest in a range of digital assets called "altcoins" beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, a move that is rare among traditional asset management companies. The new fund will target institutional investors and will be structured as a private fund to avoid the regulatory hurdles faced by ETFs. Managing $1.6 trillion in assets, Franklin Templeton has been involved in the digital asset space since 2018. In 2021, the company launched a blockchain-based money market fund, three years ahead of similar funds from asset management giant BlackRock. However, due to legal and regulatory uncertainties, many asset management companies remain cautious about cryptocurrency investments. In January of this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved ETFs that directly hold Bitcoin, allowing individual investors to easily invest in Bitcoin like buying stocks. In the same month, Franklin Templeton and other large fund companies rushed to launch Bitcoin ETFs, with total assets reaching around $60 billion. In May of this year, the SEC took the first step in approving Ethereum ETFs, including Franklin's application. Franklin Templeton's new fund will not face the regulatory hurdles of ETFs as it is not targeting small investors. The fund is expected to invest through active management or tracking cryptocurrency indices, with fund managers selecting tokens for investment. Additionally, the fund may offer staking rewards, where investors earn returns by staking their assets to validate blockchain transactions. Currently, asset management companies focused on cryptocurrencies like Grayscale and Galaxy Digital have launched token funds including Solana, Avalanche, and XRP. Previously, Franklin Templeton had launched private funds for affluent investors and provided a range of independent managed accounts for cryptocurrencies through Eaglebrook Advisors. Furthermore, the company is actively expanding its digital asset business outside the United States. In April of this year, Franklin Templeton established a joint venture in the United Arab Emirates to explore the development of an "income coin" similar to a stablecoin but with interest payments. CEO Jenny Johnson stated that more people will have investment opportunities through blockchain in the future, and revealed that the company is considering creating tokenized investment opportunities for traditional ETFs in the market to make them easier for investors to manage and use