Franklin Templeton has closed its acquisition of crypto asset manager 250 Digital, creating a new push into institutional crypto investing as the traditional asset manager grows its digital footprint.
What changed
- The deal folds 250 Digital’s investment team and crypto strategies into a freshly minted division called Franklin Crypto, merging those capabilities with Franklin Templeton’s existing digital-asset operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Franklin Templeton, which oversees roughly $1.78 trillion in assets globally, said the unit will be led by former 250 Digital executives Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns alongside Franklin digital-assets executive Tony Pecore. The acquisition completes an agreement first disclosed in April.
Why it matters
- Franklin Crypto will offer institutional investors actively managed cryptocurrency strategies supported by the 250 Digital team and Franklin Templeton’s global distribution network — signaling a push to move beyond tokenized product engineering into full-scale portfolio management for institutions.
- The transaction follows 250 Digital’s own evolution earlier this year, when CoinFund spun out its liquid strategies business into the firm as CoinFund refocused on venture investing.
How this fits into Franklin Templeton’s broader crypto playbook
- The acquisition comes amid a string of crypto-related initiatives from Franklin Templeton:
- Integration of its BENJI tokenized money market fund with MoonPay Trade, allowing institutions to swap stablecoins like USDC and USDT for BENJI using MoonPay’s on-chain trading rails.
- A filing to launch two exchange-traded funds designed to automatically route stock dividend income into Bitcoin-linked investments (previously reported).
- A February partnership with Binance to let institutional clients use tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for crypto trading while preserving regulated custody.
- A collaboration with Ondo Finance to make tokenized ETFs available on blockchain networks, broadening access to traditional investment products via on-chain infrastructure.
Tokenization momentum
- Franklin Templeton’s tokenized assets have surged from about $768 million in June 2025 to more than $2.5 billion today, according to RWA.xyz — a more-than-threefold increase in a year.
- That rise mirrors an industry trend: on-chain real-world asset (RWA) value climbed from roughly $11.8 billion a year ago to $32.2 billion, per RWA.xyz, underscoring growing institutional adoption of tokenized financial products.
What comes next
- Franklin Templeton said its existing digital assets team — focused on research, portfolio construction and institutional risk management — will continue operating alongside the new unit. With operations in 35+ countries, the firm says the 250 Digital buyout bolsters its ability to serve clients seeking regulated, institution-grade exposure to crypto and tokenized investments.
Bottom line: The acquisition accelerates Franklin Templeton’s transition from experimenting with tokenization and custody solutions to running active crypto strategies at scale, positioning the firm to capture growing institutional demand for on-chain and crypto-native investment products.
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