Franklin Templeton, a global asset management firm, has expanded its blockchain-based offerings by launching its Nasdaq-listed OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) within the Arbitrum ecosystem. This move comes as tokenized funds based on real-world assets (RWAs) continue to attract significant interest from investors.
On Thursday, Franklin Templeton announced that FOBXX is now accessible through digital wallets on the Arbitrum network. The launch is part of the company’s broader strategy to increase the fund’s availability to retail investors by integrating it into secure and high-activity blockchain networks.
Roger Bayston, Franklin Templeton’s Head of Digital Assets, emphasized the importance of network factors such as cost, resilience, and scalability in their decision to incorporate FOBXX into various blockchain ecosystems. “We’re all about listening to the consumer and the client and giving them what they want,” Bayston told Decrypt.
The growing accessibility of FOBXX coincides with a surge in demand for tokenized RWA funds. For instance, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, the largest of its kind, has distributed $7 million in dividends since its inception in March 2024. Additionally, the tokenized treasury market has seen substantial growth, doubling to $1.8 billion from January to June 2024, according to data from crypto firm 21 Shares.
FOBXX primarily invests in U.S. government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by the U.S. government, with a target of maintaining at least 99.5% of its total assets in these instruments. The fund aims to deliver relatively high returns to both institutional and retail investors.
