TL;DR
- Franklin Templeton and HashKey launched grBENJI for professional investors in Asia, providing blockchain-based access to U.S. government money market instruments and dollar cash assets.
- Franklin Templeton manages about $1.8 trillion globally, while HashKey’s Hong Kong licenses support regulated distribution through its Earn channel for eligible investors.
- Tokenized real-world assets reached $38.2 billion by August 23, including $15.6 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasury debt, as both firms plan broader tokenized products.
Franklin Templeton and HashKey Exchange are expanding tokenized finance in Asia by bringing the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund, known as grBENJI, to professional digital asset investors. The fund mainly invests in U.S. government money market instruments and dollar-denominated cash assets while using blockchain infrastructure as its investment wrapper. The notable shift is that a traditional money market strategy is being delivered directly through a regulated digital asset platform. HashKey has placed the product in its Earn channel, but access remains limited to professional investors rather than the general Hong Kong public in Asia.
Tokenized money markets gain institutional distribution in Asia
Franklin Templeton manages about $1.8 trillion globally across more than 35 countries, giving the partnership significant institutional scale. HashKey, meanwhile, holds Type 1 and Type 7 licenses from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, allowing it to trade securities for clients and operate an automated trading service. The combination brings an established global asset manager together with regulated crypto distribution infrastructure built for Asian investors. Rather than creating a purely crypto-native yield product, the partnership packages conventional U.S. government and cash exposure into a blockchain-based format accessible through an existing digital asset venue at scale.
The rollout arrives as tokenized real-world assets continue expanding rapidly. Total RWA value reached $38.2 billion as of August 23, up from $20.6 billion a year earlier, while tokenized U.S. Treasury debt accounted for $15.6 billion. Those figures suggest tokenized government and money market products are moving from experimentation toward a meaningful segment of digital finance. Another report noted that tokenized Treasury and money market funds have grown roughly fifteenfold over two years, reinforcing the idea that investors increasingly want traditional yield instruments delivered through programmable, blockchain-based ownership and settlement infrastructure across global markets today.
The partnership also extends Franklin Templeton’s existing push into Asia. In November 2025, the firm debuted Hong Kong’s first tokenized money market fund as an initiative under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Fintech 2030 plan. Both companies now say they intend to expand beyond money market funds into additional tokenized products over time. The larger question is whether regulated distribution can turn accelerating tokenization into sustained institutional adoption across multiple Asian markets. HashKey’s platform spans Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda, giving the collaboration potential routes for broader distribution as demand develops over time.
