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

FOBXX: First Steps and Achievements

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 assets in government securities and other financial instruments collateralized by these securities. It now operates on five blockchains, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, Stellar, and Polygon. Franklin Templeton joins many firms launching spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, indicating the growing acceptance of digital assets in mainstream finance.

Why Aptos Was Chosen?

Aptos was chosen due to its compatibility with Franklin Templeton’s Benji blockchain-integrated system. The network's unique characteristics meet the firm's rigorous suitability standards. Since its launch in October 2022, Aptos has joined the top 25 digital assets by market capitalization. Daily transaction volumes have peaked at over 3 million, and according to DeFiLlama, the platform has over $576 million in total value locked in DeFi activities.

Strategic Acquisition: HashPalette

On October 3, Aptos Labs announced its agreement to acquire HashPalette Inc. This acquisition will migrate the Palette blockchain and HashPalette’s applications to the Aptos Network. Using HashPalette’s strong connections with major Japanese businesses, such as KDDI, Aptos aims to enter the Japanese market and drive Web3 adoption across sectors like entertainment, gaming, and digital assets. Starting in late November, holders of Palette Chain’s governance token, PLT, will be able to exchange their tokens for APT, Aptos’s native token, with a one-year lock-up period.

Partnership with HashPort and support for local developers will allow Aptos Labs to strengthen the Web3 community in Japan, collaborating with universities, research institutions, and startups to foster a robust blockchain ecosystem.