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Franklin Templeton Brings Its Tokenised Money Market Fund to Asia Through HashKey Exchange

  • Writer: Shawn Jhanji
    Shawn Jhanji
  • 8 hours ago
  • 2 min read
Franklin Templeton has extended its flagship tokenised money market fund into Asia, partnering with Hong Kong based HashKey Exchange to give digital asset investors across the region access to a blockchain based US government liquidity product through a licensed exchange for the first time. The Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, known by its ticker grBENJI, went live on HashKey Exchange's Earn Channel on 24 August 2026. The fund invests primarily in US government money market instruments and US dollar cash assets, with blockchain infrastructure used to record and transfer ownership. Access in Hong Kong is currently restricted to professional investors, meaning the product cannot be offered to the general public in that market. The partnership builds on Franklin Templeton's earlier move into the region. The asset manager debuted Hong Kong's first tokenised money market fund in November 2025 under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Fintech 2030 plan. HashKey's platform now spans licensed operations across Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda, giving Franklin Templeton a distribution rail across several of Asia's most active digital asset hubs at once. The firm has said it plans to expand beyond tokenised money market products into other tokenised fund types over time.

Franklin Templeton has extended its flagship tokenised money market fund into Asia, partnering with Hong Kong based HashKey Exchange to give digital asset investors across the region access to a blockchain based US government liquidity product through a licensed exchange for the first time.


The Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, known by its ticker grBENJI, went live on HashKey Exchange's Earn Channel on 24 August 2026. The fund invests primarily in US government money market instruments and US dollar cash assets, with blockchain infrastructure used to record and transfer ownership. Access in Hong Kong is currently restricted to professional investors, meaning the product cannot be offered to the general public in that market.


The partnership builds on Franklin Templeton's earlier move into the region. The asset manager debuted Hong Kong's first tokenised money market fund in November 2025 under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Fintech 2030 plan. HashKey's platform now spans licensed operations across Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda, giving Franklin Templeton a distribution rail across several of Asia's most active digital asset hubs at once. The firm has said it plans to expand beyond tokenised money market products into other tokenised fund types over time.


The timing reflects a broader surge in demand for blockchain native cash instruments. Tokenised Treasury and money market funds have grown roughly 1,500 per cent to around 15 billion dollars over the past two years, and the wider tokenised real world asset market has reached approximately 38 billion dollars as of late August 2026. Established asset managers are increasingly using licensed exchanges, rather than building their own retail facing infrastructure, as the fastest route to distribute tokenised products to investors who already hold digital assets.


For the UK market, the deal is a useful signal rather than a direct read across. The FCA's fund tokenisation policy statement, published in April 2026, gives UK fund managers a domestic rulebook for using distributed ledger technology within existing fund structures, including an optional Direct to Fund dealing model. What Franklin Templeton and HashKey are demonstrating in Asia, that a household name asset manager can distribute a tokenised fund through a third party exchange rather than proprietary rails, is the same distribution question UK regulators and fund managers are now working through domestically as the FCA and Bank of England prepare their wider tokenisation roadmap.


Key takeaways:


  • Franklin Templeton's grBENJI tokenised US government money fund launched on HashKey Exchange's Earn Channel on 24 August 2026, restricted to professional investors in Hong Kong.

  • HashKey's multi jurisdictional licensing across Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda gives Franklin Templeton a single distribution rail across several major Asian digital asset hubs.

  • Tokenised Treasury and money market funds have grown around 1,500 per cent to roughly 15 billion dollars in two years, part of a wider tokenised RWA market now near 38 billion dollars.

  • The exchange led distribution model mirrors questions UK fund managers are working through under the FCA's fund tokenisation regime and the wider wholesale markets tokenisation roadmap.


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