Franklin Templeton’s OnChain U.S. government money fund goes live on Stellar

• Franklin Templeton has announced that its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund has gone live on the Stellar Network.
• Stellar has reportedly invested $20 million in the fund, which recently crossed $270 million in assets under management (AUM).

American investment giant, Franklin Templeton has teamed up with DeFi protocol Stellar to bring its flagship crypto product to the Stellar network.

The New York-based investment firm’s OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), which boasts over $270 million in assets under management (AUM), is now live on the Stellar network. 

FOBXX will expand to other blockchains soon

According to a press release from Franklin Templeton, its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund had $272.9 million worth of assets under management as of 31 March 2023.

FOBXX’s transfer agent tapped the Stellar network for a proprietary blockchain-integrated system to maintain an official record of share ownership.

It is the first United States registered fund to use a public blockchain to process transactions and record share ownership.

As per the fund’s datasheet, its 7-day yield currently stands at 4.53%, which is paid out monthly.

In a bid to diversify its treasury, the Stellar Development Foundation made a $20 million investment into FOBXX . Franklin Templeton described it as an innovative investment vehicle that integrates traditional financial institutions and blockchain technology.

Speaking on the latest development, the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation Danelle Dixon stated, “Stellar is built and optimized for asset tokenization, and the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund exemplifies the blockchain’s usability.”

One share of the OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is represented by one BENJI token. FOBXX is currently available for users through the Benji Investments app.  

Blockchains like Stellar are important to the investment process of the future, and assets built on blockchain rails, like the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, will eventually be interoperable with the rest of the digital asset ecosystem,” added Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton.