Franklin Templeton, Kraken Parent Payward Team Up to Tokenize Wall Street Products
Payward, parent of Kraken, and asset manager Franklin Templeton have formed a strategic partnership to bring mainstream financial products onto blockchain networks, signaling further convergence between traditional finance and the crypto sector. The collaboration leverages Franklin Templeton’s asset management and tokenization expertise with Kraken’s trading, custody, and on-chain infrastructure. Kraken will integrate Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market funds (BENJI) into its platform, enabling institutional clients to use them as collateral or cash management tools. Together, the companies aim to create new blockchain-based investment products, including actively managed strategies tradeable on-chain using Payward’s xStocks framework. Some offerings will be available to both institutional and retail investors, depending on jurisdiction. The partnership reflects Franklin Templeton’s broader move into digital assets and focus on enhancing the functionality of on-chain products for a wide range of market participants.
