Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) is a regulated U.S. money market fund from Franklin Templeton that uses public blockchains to process transactions and record share ownership. The fund was launched in April 2021, with each share represented by a digital BENJI token. However, FOBXX's underlying assets remain traditional: the portfolio consists primarily of U.S. government securities, cash, and fully collateralized repurchase agreements. This structure makes FOBXX a notable example of Real World Asset tokenization, where blockchain serves as the infrastructure for an investment fund rather than replacing its underlying portfolio.
Contents
- What Are Franklin Templeton FOBXX and the BENJI Token?
- How the Tokenized Fund Generates Yield
- Blockchain Networks, BENJI Transfers, and Fund Infrastructure
- FOBXX Use Cases in RWA, Payments, and Digital Markets
- Risks and Prospects of Franklin Templeton FOBXX
1. What Are Franklin Templeton FOBXX and the BENJI Token?
FOBXX is the ticker for the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, a U.S.-registered money market fund. Its investment objective is to generate current income while preserving capital and liquidity. Like traditional government money market funds, it also seeks to maintain a stable share price of $1.
The key difference lies in how fund shares are recorded. Franklin Templeton uses its blockchain-integrated Benji system, while the fund's transfer agent maintains the official ownership record using public blockchain networks. When the fund launched in 2021, Stellar served as its primary blockchain infrastructure.
Each fund share is represented by one BENJI token. BENJI is not a separate cryptocurrency backed by the fund's assets, nor is it an algorithmic stablecoin. Instead, it directly represents a share of a regulated mutual fund and the associated investor rights. Its economic value is therefore determined by the FOBXX portfolio and the fund's regulatory framework.
FOBXX became the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain as part of its official share ownership recordkeeping system. In April 2026, Franklin Templeton and the Stellar Development Foundation marked five years since the product's launch. As of July 31, 2026, FOBXX had approximately $721 million in net assets.
2. How the Tokenized Fund Generates Yield
Despite its blockchain infrastructure, FOBXX follows a conservative investment strategy. The fund invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in U.S. government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by government securities or cash. The portfolio's weighted average maturity is also limited by the requirements applicable to money market funds.
BENJI does not generate yield through staking, DeFi lending, or cryptocurrency issuance. Income comes from interest earned by the fund's portfolio after expenses. Dividends accrue daily, making the product economically closer to a traditional money market fund than to a yield-bearing stablecoin.
- FOBXX. Franklin Templeton's regulated U.S. government money market fund.
- BENJI. A digital representation of one FOBXX share within the blockchain infrastructure.
- Underlying assets. U.S. government securities, cash, and fully collateralized repo agreements.
- Target value. The fund seeks to maintain a NAV of $1 per share.
- Yield. Generated by portfolio income after fund expenses.
- Daily accrual. Income accrues and is distributed daily.
- Intraday Yield. Benji can calculate proportional income based on how long a tokenized share is held during the day when it is transferred.
In 2025, Franklin Templeton introduced Intraday Yield. The system can calculate income proportionally to the amount of time a tokenized asset is held, down to the second when it is transferred between investors. This allows an owner to receive the corresponding portion of income even when BENJI is transferred to another participant before the end of the day.
The yield is not fixed. For example, as of August 14, 2026, FOBXX had a 7-day effective yield of 3.61%, but this figure changes with money market rates and the composition of the portfolio. In August 2026, the fund's gross expense ratio was 0.22%, while the stated net expense ratio after applicable expense limitations was 0.20%.
3. Blockchain Networks, BENJI Transfers, and Fund Infrastructure
FOBXX initially launched on Stellar. Franklin Templeton added Polygon in 2023, after which the infrastructure gradually became multichain. Support later expanded to Arbitrum, Avalanche, Aptos, Ethereum, Base, Solana, and BNB Smart Chain, although the availability of a specific network depends on the investor type and platform conditions.
Benji combines blockchain recordkeeping, an investment interface, and wallet infrastructure. Retail users can access the system through a mobile application, while institutional clients have a separate web platform. The use of public blockchains does not mean that access is completely permissionless: investors must complete the required identity verification and compliance procedures.
| Parameter | Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund |
|---|---|
| Ticker | FOBXX |
| Tokenized share | BENJI |
| Fund launch | April 6, 2021 |
| Type | U.S. government money market fund |
| Target NAV | $1 per share |
| Primary assets | U.S. government securities, cash, and collateralized repo agreements |
| Initial blockchain | Stellar |
| Other supported networks | Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Aptos, Ethereum, Base, Solana, BNB Smart Chain |
| P2P transfers | Between eligible BENJI holders |
| Net assets | Approximately $721 million as of July 31, 2026 |
In April 2024, Franklin Templeton introduced peer-to-peer transferability for institutional holders, allowing BENJI to move between eligible shareholder wallets. In May 2025, P2P functionality was also made available to retail users through an updated application.
This model distinguishes BENJI from a conventional ownership entry stored solely in an investment company's centralized database. Blockchain allows tokenized fund shares to move between approved wallets while preserving the fund's regulated structure. The transfer agent continues to oversee the official ownership record and compliance with applicable requirements.
4. FOBXX Use Cases in RWA, Payments, and Digital Markets
FOBXX belongs to the tokenized treasuries segment and the broader Real World Assets category. Unlike projects that create entirely new financial instruments within DeFi, Franklin Templeton moved an established mutual fund structure onto blockchain-based infrastructure. This combines a traditional portfolio of government instruments with digital ownership transfer.
The practical significance of P2P transfers is that BENJI is gradually becoming more than a way to hold a position in the fund. Tokenized shares can be used in supported institutional settlement scenarios where a yield-bearing asset with relatively low credit risk is required.
In February 2026, Franklin Templeton and Binance announced an institutional off-exchange collateral program. Eligible clients were given the ability to use tokenized money market fund shares issued through Benji as collateral for trading while keeping the assets outside the exchange in regulated custody infrastructure. This illustrates how tokenized funds can connect traditional capital markets with cryptocurrency trading.
Another potential use case is settlement involving tokenized securities. The ability to calculate intraday income, transfer shares between approved addresses, and operate through blockchain infrastructure can make these instruments useful in transactions where conventional fund infrastructure is less flexible. However, specific functionality depends on regulation, investor status, supported networks, and counterparty requirements.
5. Risks and Prospects of Franklin Templeton FOBXX
Despite its focus on government instruments, FOBXX is neither a bank deposit nor a conventional stablecoin. The fund seeks to maintain a $1 share price, but investments remain subject to interest-rate, liquidity, and other market risks. Yield also changes with monetary conditions: lower short-term interest rates generally reduce the income generated by money market funds.
Blockchain introduces an additional layer of technological risk. Franklin Templeton identifies risks related to public networks, digital wallets, software, and the relatively new model of blockchain-based recordkeeping. A multichain architecture broadens BENJI's accessibility but also requires the fund infrastructure to support several different technological environments.
At the same time, FOBXX demonstrates that RWA tokenization can extend beyond experimental DeFi products. In April 2026, the SEC included FOBXX among money market funds classified by regulatory staff as tokenized MMFs. Similar products are now offered by other asset managers, shifting competition toward liquidity, supported networks, integrations, and settlement infrastructure.
Franklin Templeton FOBXX combines a traditional investment fund with blockchain-based recordkeeping. U.S. government securities and repo agreements generate the underlying income, BENJI represents a regulated fund share, and public networks provide digital transferability and programmability. The model's long-term significance will depend on institutional demand for tokenized treasuries, regulation, integration with financial platforms, and whether blockchain infrastructure can deliver practical advantages over conventional fund share recordkeeping.
