Franklin Templeton Launched First Tokenized Fund in Hong Kong

• Franklin Templeton’s tokenized fund has been launched in Hong Kong as part of HKMA Fintech 2030.
• It is powered by Benji Technology.
• In partnership with HSBC and OSL, the companies are also testing tokenized deposits for fund settlements.

Investment company Franklin Templeton has introduced the first tokenized money market fund in Hong Kong. The product was created on the basis of its own Benji Technology platform.

The new instrument, Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, invests in short-term U.S. government securities.

According to the statement, its tokenized structure provides faster transactions, higher transparency, and lower costs than traditional funds. Registered in Luxembourg, the fund is available in Hong Kong to institutional and professional investors with at least HK$8 million (over $1 million) in assets.

The company is also working on a version for retail investors.

Sandy Kaul, Head of Innovation at Franklin Templeton, added:

She emphasized that the company will work with traditional financial institutions and Web3 platforms to “accelerate the momentum of the tokenization revolution and further shape the future of investing.”

The launch of the fund was part of the Fintech 2030 plan, which was presented by the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Eddie Yue Wai-man. The plan includes more than 40 measures to introduce artificial intelligence (AI), develop the tokenized ecosystem, and create a framework for tokenized deposit settlements. The latter can be integrated with the central bank digital currency (CBDC) for interbank payments in the future.

Franklin Templeton is participating in the HKMA’s Project Ensemble pilot project with HSBC and OSL Group, the operator of Hong Kong’s first licensed digital asset trading platform. As part of the collaboration, HSBC is exploring the possibility of using tokenized deposits to service OSL’s customer transactions.

Lewis Sun, Global Head of Domestic and Emerging Payments at HSBC, said the partnership demonstrates the “huge potential of tokenized deposits to facilitate near-instant, 24/7 settlements for tokenized money market funds.”

The move complements Franklin Templeton’s global tokenization strategy. In September 2025, the company, together with DBS and Ripple Labs, launched an institutional solution based on the XRP Ledger, including the sgBENJI tokenized fund and the RLUSD stablecoin.

In addition, in April, there were reports that the company is considering the launch of an exchange-traded crypto product (ETP) in Europe.