 
 
Global investment giant Franklin Templeton, which manages about $1.6 trillion in assets, has positioned digital assets at the center of its long-term strategy.
The firm has filed multiple crypto ETFs, launched blockchain-focused funds, and partnered with major exchanges. In mid-September 2025, social posts citing a CNBC segment claimed Franklin Templeton executives said that “crypto is growing faster than the internet,” drawing attention across financial media.
Several posts on September 16–17, 2025, circulated a quote attributed to Franklin Templeton during a CNBC interview: “Crypto is growing faster than the internet.” While the posts reference a live broadcast, no official CNBC transcript with that exact phrasing has been located.
Franklin Templeton’s CEO, Jenny Johnson, has repeatedly emphasized digital assets as a critical investment frontier. In an August 2025 interview, she described crypto infrastructure as “picks and shovels” for the next generation of finance, pointing to tokenization, validators, and blockchain rails as areas of focus.
Executives, including Roger Bayston, have also outlined strategies for tokenized funds and institutional adoption. These comments align with the firm’s regulatory filings and its September 2025 Binance collaboration.
 
Franklin Templeton remains one of the largest global asset managers with about $1.6–1.68 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of its latest public filings in FY2024. This scale gives its crypto initiatives outsized influence compared to smaller asset managers entering the space.
Comparisons between crypto adoption and the internet era underscore the rapid integration of digital assets into global finance.
While the CNBC-attributed quote has not been independently verified in primary transcripts, Franklin Templeton’s regulatory filings and partnerships confirm that the firm views blockchain as a structural shift rather than a speculative asset class.
Franklin Templeton’s $1.6 trillion footprint and ongoing ETF filings show the growing institutionalization of crypto markets.
While the viral CNBC quote requires verification, the firm’s actions—ranging from ETF filings to partnerships with Binance—provide clear, documented evidence of its long-term commitment to blockchain adoption.