Franklin Templeton has expanded access to its tokenized U.S. government money market fund in Asia through a new distribution partnership with Hong Kong-licensed HashKey Exchange.
Summary
- Franklin Templeton has partnered with HashKey Exchange to distribute its tokenized U.S. government liquidity fund.
- The fund is available through HashKey Exchanges Earn channel to professional investors in Hong Kong.
- The product mainly invests in U.S. government money market instruments and U.S. dollar cash assets.
- Franklin Templeton and HashKey plan to explore additional tokenized products across multiple markets.
HashKey Holdings said on Aug. 24 that its licensed trading platform has added the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund, known as grBENJI, to the HashKey Exchange Earn channel, giving eligible digital asset investors access to the product through blockchain-based infrastructure.
The fund invests mainly in U.S. government money market instruments and U.S. dollar cash assets. Access in Hong Kong is restricted to professional investors, and the product cannot be offered to the general public, according to HashKey.
The arrangement gives Franklin Templeton another distribution channel for its tokenized investment products in Asia while adding an established asset manager‘s money market product to HashKey’s regulated investment platform.
Chetan Karkhanis, Franklin Templeton‘s senior vice president of digital assets client engagement, said the listing gives the firm access to HashKey’s digital banking, wealth management and institutional client base.
“We are excited to launch our tokenized money market fund on the HashKey Exchange platform,” Karkhanis said, adding that blockchain technology provides investors with “enhanced transparency, security, accessibility, speed, and cost efficiency.”
Franklin Templeton plans more tokenized products with HashKey
Following the grBENJI rollout, Franklin Templeton and HashKey plan to explore additional tokenized investment products and asset classes across several markets.
Karkhanis said the companies expect to expand their relationship past money market funds, using HashKeys operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda as potential distribution points.
“We look forward to deepening this partnership by expanding beyond tokenized money market funds into other tokenized products over time,” he said.
HashKey Exchange BG CEO Haiyang Ru said the addition of grBENJI responds to institutional demand for compliant yield products backed by real-world assets. He described the partnership as a way to combine traditional investment products with regulated digital asset infrastructure.
HashKey Exchange operates under Hong Kongs Securities and Futures Commission with Type 1 and Type 7 licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, along with a license under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, according to the company. HashKey said it does not provide services to users in mainland China, the United States and certain other jurisdictions.
The exchange has previously worked on regulated tokenized securities in Hong Kong. In June 2025, HashKey Chain and GF Securities Hong Kong launched GF Token, a security issued, recorded and managed on-chain, with HashKey Exchange serving as one of its distribution channels for qualified investors.
Franklin Templeton has expanded its Asia tokenization business
The HashKey deal follows Franklin Templetons earlier introduction of a tokenized money market product in Hong Kong.
In November 2025, crypto.news reported the Hong Kong launch of the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, which gave institutional and accredited investors access to short-term U.S. government debt.
The fund had been registered in Luxembourg and was launched in Hong Kong with support from HSBC and digital asset platform OSL. At the time, Franklin Templetons APAC head Tariq Ahmad said the asset manager also planned to pursue a version that could eventually be offered to retail investors, subject to approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
Franklin Templeton has continued adding distribution and trading routes for its tokenized products during 2026.
In June, the asset manager added BENJI to MoonPay, allowing institutional users to swap stablecoins including USDC and USDT for the tokenized money market product through MoonPay Trades on-chain system.
Days later, Franklin Templeton completed its acquisition of 250 Digital, creating a new Franklin Crypto division that combined the acquired firm‘s investment team and strategies with Franklin Templeton’s existing digital asset operations.
The June report put Franklin Templeton‘s assets under management at $1.78 trillion and said RWA.xyz data showed the firm’s tokenized assets had increased from about $768 million in June 2025 to more than $2.5 billion within a year.
HashKey‘s latest announcement put Franklin Templeton’s total assets under management at $1.80 trillion as of July 31, with operations spanning more than 35 countries.
Tokenized funds are moving into more distribution channels
Franklin Templeton has also used partnerships with blockchain and financial technology companies to place traditional investment products inside crypto-native systems.
Through a partnership with Ondo Finance, the asset manager introduced tokenized ETFs designed to trade around the clock through crypto wallets. The product lineup covered U.S. equities, fixed income and gold for eligible non-U.S. investors across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Franklin Templeton has separately worked with Binance on an institutional collateral structure that lets clients use tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for crypto trading while keeping the underlying assets with regulated custodians.
Demand for tokenized government debt has increased alongside that institutional activity. RWA.xyz data cited in the supplied report showed the total value of tokenized real-world assets at $38.2 billion as of Aug. 23, compared with $20.6 billion one year earlier.
Tokenized U.S. Treasury debt accounted for about $15.6 billion of that total, making government securities one of the largest categories within the on-chain RWA market.
For HashKey, grBENJI adds another yield-bearing product to its Earn channel while extending an existing focus on tokenized financial instruments. Franklin Templeton said the two companies will continue assessing additional tokenized products following the Aug. 24 launch.