Franklin Templeton says Wall Street fears blockchain because it threatens its profits
Asset management is moving on-chain, but public blockchains are disrupting traditional finance’s fee-based business models. Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, said hesitation from major firms comes from the threat to “toll-taker” intermediaries like banks that profit from transaction fees. Smart contract settlement can remove those middle layers and cut costs sharply. She cited Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market fund, Benji, saying transactions on Stellar were far cheaper than on legacy systems. Franklin Templeton is also expanding its digital asset strategy through a MoonPay partnership to let institutions move between stablecoins and the fund in an onchain workflow. Johnson said custodians and banks still have a future because most investors want trusted third parties, not self-custody. The broader shift depends on compliant, low-cost infrastructure that makes tokenized funds usable for mainstream and institutional investors.
