Franklin Templeton, a leading asset management firm, announced the expansion of its tokenized fund, the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), to the Aptos blockchain.

What is FOBXX?

Launched in 2021, FOBXX became the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to adopt blockchain technology, initially utilizing the Stellar network. Its shares are tokenized and represented by the BENJI token. The fund is regulated under the 1940 Act and invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in government securities and other financial instruments. With the Aptos expansion, FOBXX now operates on five different blockchains, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, Stellar, and Polygon.

Why Aptos?

Aptos was chosen for this expansion due to its compatibility with Franklin Templeton’s Benji blockchain-integrated system. Since its launch in October 2022, Aptos has become one of the top 25 digital assets by market capitalization and has seen considerable transaction volume.

Strategic Acquisition: HashPalette

On October 3, Aptos Labs announced its acquisition of HashPalette Inc. to migrate the Palette blockchain and applications to the Aptos Network. This agreement allows Aptos to enter the Japanese market and boost Web3 adoption in sectors like entertainment, gaming, and digital assets. Holders of Palette Chain’s governance token will be able to exchange their PLT tokens for APT, Aptos’s native token, starting in late November.

Franklin Templeton's expansion onto the Aptos blockchain and Aptos Labs’ strategic initiatives highlight the growing interest of major financial players in digital assets and their integration into traditional financial systems.