Franklin Templeton, a number one monetary providers firm, has expanded its OnChain U.S. Authorities Cash Market Fund (FOBXX) to the Solana blockchain.
FOBXX, launched in 2021, has grown to $512 million in market capitalization. It invests practically 100% of its belongings in U.S. authorities securities, money, and secured repurchase agreements, guaranteeing minimal credit score threat.
FOBXX can be accessible on a number of blockchains, together with layer-1 blockchains Ethereum and Avalanche, Ethereum layer-2 blockchains Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Aptos, and others. Solana is the most recent addition, signaling the blockchain’s rising significance in tokenization.
As of January 31, 2025, the fund had a seven-day efficient yield of 4.2%. Every BENJI token represents one share within the fund, making it the primary U.S. mutual fund to make use of blockchain for record-keeping and transactions.
Solana has emerged because the dominant platform for brand new token launches, notably memecoins and decentralized buying and selling. In accordance with Pantera Capital, 90% of all new tokens now seem on Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs), up from simply 1% in late 2023.
Regardless of being recognized for memecoins, Solana is attracting extra institutional traders. Hedge funds and wealth managers are rising their SOL holdings. After crashing beneath $10 post-FTX, SOL rebounded to $265.10, partly boosted by Donald Trump’s memecoin launch.
Tokenization is rising quick in crypto, as firms transfer conventional belongings like bonds, commodities, and funds onto blockchain for quicker and extra environment friendly transactions. Ethereum is main with $3.8 billion in tokenized belongings, making up 52% of the market. Solana, at present in seventh place with $135 million, is gaining recognition and will rise additional.
Franklin Templeton has been increasing its presence in crypto. It launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in 2024 and is looking for approval for a Crypto Index ETF.
On February 10, 2025, it registered a Solana ETF belief in Delaware, reflecting its rising curiosity within the community. Nonetheless, regulatory challenges stay, as lawsuits allege that SOL is an unregistered safety, doubtlessly complicating ETF approvals.
Additionally Learn: SEC Approves Hashdex and Franklin Bitcoin Index ETFs
