Franklin Templeton’s Jenny Johnson on Bitcoin ETFs, RWA Tokenization and Blockchain’s Potential for TradFi

AUSTIN, TX — Franklin Templeton, a $1.6 trillion asset manager based in Silicon Valley, is among the leading names in traditional finance entering the digital asset space.

“We looked at blockchain technology [and found] This is going to be transformational, and we better make sure we understand that,” Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton, said during a Thursday panel discussion at Consensus 2024 in Austin.

Read more: Jenny Johnson Learns Blockchain Tricks from 76-Year-Old Franklin Templeton

That’s why the company operates approximately 30 validator nodes on 12 different blockchains, including Ethereum {{ETH}}, Cardano {{ADA}}, Stellar {{XLM}} and Provenance, Johnson said at the panel. This is more than what is shown on the asset manager’s website, which mentions six networks, including the same four blockchains plus Polkadot {{DOT}} and Solana {{SOL}}.

RWA tokenization

He explained that the key appeal of blockchain technology is the efficiency of recording and reconciling transactions and the potential for cost savings.

“Franklin [Templeton] There are many, several hundred people who have made peace today [data] “If we reach an agreement between systems, we would have to compromise with the other party and another firm,” Johnson said.

He said blockchain offers a single “source of truth” and records the timing of transactions better than traditional processes, which can help cut costs and reduce administrative workload.

“We work in a business where we are under constant pressure to reduce the delivery costs of our work,” he added.

One example leveraging blockchain is tokenization, which makes real-world assets such as funds and bonds available on digital asset rails. Franklin Templeton was a pioneer, he said, launching the first on-chain money market fund using the Stellar network in 2021, years before competitors like BlackRock entered the space.

Read more: Franklin Templeton Raises $380 Million Tokenized Treasury Fund to Enable Peer-to-Peer Transfers

Bitcoin ETFs

Franklin Templeton was one of 11 issuers approved to list spot-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US in January and is also among those awaiting approval to launch a similar vehicle for the second-largest cryptocurrency ether.

Johnson said many people are interested in Bitcoin {{BTC}} as an asset outside the banking system that is resistant to government seizure, but ETFs offer a well-understood vehicle for exposure.

“For me, this is the tool of choice,” Johnson said. “An ETF is a regulated entity, and that makes a lot of people more comfortable who wouldn’t otherwise trade in this space.”