Franklin Templeton has announced that users of its Benji Investments platform can now convert USDC stablecoin to U.S. dollars to fund their investment in the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund. This development allows institutional wallets to purchase shares represented by BENJI tokens.
Franklin Templeton Enables USDC Conversions on Benji Investments Platform
This article was published more than a year ago. Some information may no longer be current.
WRITTEN BY
SHARE
USDC Conversions Now Available for Franklin Templeton’s Onchain Fund on Benji
Global investment management firm Franklin Templeton has announced that users of its Benji Investments platform can now convert USDC stablecoin to U.S. dollars to fund their investment in the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund. The conversion services are provided by Zero Hash, which supports over 60 digital assets across multiple blockchains.
This new feature, Franklin Templeton says facilitates the seamless purchase of BENJI tokens and the conversion of U.S. dollar proceeds back to USDC, the second largest stablecoin by market cap. The fund, launched in 2021, was the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for transactions and share ownership recording.
The announcement details that Franklin Templeton’s initiative aims to enhance accessibility for both traditional and blockchain-native investors, with potential future expansions for individual investors on the platform. The Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund invests primarily in government securities, cash, and fully collateralized repurchase agreements.
Essentially, it maintains a stable $1 share price, offering a competitive yield while preserving capital and liquidity. In April 2024, the fund enabled peer-to-peer transfers for institutional BENJI token holders on the blockchain, further advancing its integration of digital assets and traditional finance. Blackrock also launched a fund leveraging U.S. government bonds called BUIDL.
Blackrock’s tokenized fund, the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) fund, was introduced in collaboration with Coinbase and the tokenization platform Securitize in March 2024. On Thursday, Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, explained that the USDC conversion simplifies access to BENJI.
“By offering an on-ramp to buy BENJI tokens with USDC we provide a seamless method for investors to access our tokenized money market fund, which is a registered fund that provides the price stability characteristics of a stablecoin while also accruing yield,” Bayston remarked.
What do you think about Franklin Templeton’s USDC conversion announcement? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
