Franklin Templeton Expands Tokenized Money Market Fund to Solana
In a notable development within the blockchain space, Franklin Templeton has announced the availability of its OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX) on the Solana network. This move marks FOBXX as the third-largest tokenized money market fund, reflecting the growing interest from financial institutions in leveraging blockchain technology. The fund was previously accessible on other platforms including Ethereum, Coinbase’s Base, Aptos, and Avalanche, all of which were integrated last year. The Stellar network continues to serve as the primary blockchain for these operations. This expansion was officially revealed by the asset manager on Wednesday.
Solana has quickly risen to prominence as a key platform for the introduction of new tokens, predominantly memecoins, and decentralized trading. According to a report by Pantera Capital, Solana is now responsible for over 90% of all new tokens entering the decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem, a significant increase from just 1% in late 2023. The report, authored by Cosmo Jiang and Eric Wallach, highlights that “Even when innovation doesn’t start on Solana, it eventually finds its way there.”
Since its inception in 2021, FOBXX has experienced substantial growth, currently boasting a market capitalization of $594 million, as per data from rwa.xyx. However, it remains behind its competitors, namely Hashnote’s Short Duration Yield Coin (USYC) and BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
Tokenization: A Rapidly Growing Sector
Tokenization is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic sectors in the crypto landscape, as institutions increasingly look to bring traditional financial assets—such as bonds, commodities, and funds—into the blockchain economy. This transition promises to enhance operational efficiency and accelerate settlement processes, unveiling a multitrillion-dollar market opportunity, as forecasted by reports from BCG, McKinsey, and Brevan Howard.
Solana’s Growing Influence
Currently, the smart-contract network Ethereum dominates the tokenization ecosystem, holding a 52% market share that equates to $3.8 billion in tokenized real-world assets. Following Ethereum is the layer-2 solution ZKsync Era, according to data from rwa.xyz. Solana, while ranking seventh with $135 million in tokenization efforts, is gaining traction.
Franklin Templeton’s strategic expansion to Solana is indicative of the heightened interest in the network for tokenization initiatives. Additionally, the real-world asset platform Securitize broadened its offerings, including BUIDL, by integrating with Solana in late January. In a recent interview, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder and managing partner of hedge fund SkyBridge, praised Solana’s speed and efficiency, asserting that it is poised to “win the race” in the burgeoning landscape of tokenization.
