Kraken Parent Teams Up With Franklin Templeton for Blockchain-Integrated Funds

Payward, Kraken's parent company, has entered into a significant partnership with Franklin Templeton, one of the world's largest investment managers. The two companies will collaborate to develop actively managed investment products that are directly integrated onto blockchain networks.

The integration of Franklin Templeton's BENJI token suite into Kraken's platform for institutional use is a key aspect of this partnership. These tokens represent shares in various funds, including the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund, and can be used as collateral or to generate yield in digital markets.

This collaboration reflects a fundamental shift in how financial products are structured and managed, according to Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken. He noted that such partnerships unlock new classes of products that would have been impossible even three years ago, leveraging the credibility of traditional managers with the programmability of digital infrastructure.

Franklin Templeton has been actively pursuing blockchain integration since 2018 and has already launched several tokenized products, including FOBXX, a U.S.-registered mutual fund recorded on a public blockchain. The company's partnership with Ondo Finance in March 2026 also led to the tokenization of five ETFs for onchain distribution.