USDFranklin Templeton, HashKey Bring Tokenized U.S. Money Fund to Asia
Regulated exchange rollout targets professional investors as tokenized Treasury assets expand
TL;DR
- Franklin Templeton and HashKey Exchange are distributing the tokenized grBENJI money market fund to professional investors in Asia.
- The fund invests mainly in U.S. government money market products and U.S. dollar cash assets through a blockchain-based wrapper.
- Both companies plan to extend their partnership beyond money market funds into other tokenized products.
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Franklin Templeton and Hong Kong-regulated HashKey Exchange have partnered to distribute the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund, or grBENJI, to professional digital asset investors in Asia, with HashKey launching the tokenized money market product through its Earn channel. The partnership was announced on August 24, 2026, and the fund is not available to the general public in Hong Kong.
grBENJI is designed to provide professional investors with access to a tokenized fund that invests mainly in U.S. government money market products and U.S. dollar cash assets. The fund uses blockchain infrastructure to represent investors’ claims on the underlying assets through a tokenized wrapper, while the underlying exposure remains tied to traditional money market instruments rather than cryptocurrency assets.
Franklin Templeton manages $1.8 trillion in assets globally across more than 35 countries. The partnership extends the asset manager’s existing tokenization activity in Asia and gives eligible digital asset investors another regulated channel through which to access its blockchain-based investment products.
Chetan Karkhanis, Franklin Templeton's SVP of digital assets client engagement, said the firms intend to broaden the relationship over time. “We look forward to deepening this partnership by expanding beyond tokenized money market funds into other tokenized products over time, leveraging HashKey's multi-jurisdictional platform spanning Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and Bermuda.”
Those five markets form part of HashKey’s wider multi-jurisdictional platform. Both Franklin Templeton and HashKey said they plan to move beyond money market funds and introduce other tokenized products through the partnership over time.
Tokenized Treasury and money market assets continue rapid growth
The rollout comes as tokenized U.S. Treasury and money market funds have grown 1,500% to $15 billion over the past two years, according to RWA.xyz.
A separate RWA.xyz market snapshot showed total tokenized real-world asset value at $38.2 billion as of August 23, 2026, compared with $20.6 billion a year earlier. That represented an increase of $17.6 billion, or roughly 85%, based on the figures provided.
Franklin Templeton builds on earlier Hong Kong tokenization push
Franklin Templeton’s latest distribution agreement follows its November 2025 debut of the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, identified as Hong Kong’s first tokenized money market fund. That launch was also the first initiative under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Fintech 2030 plan.
HashKey’s role extends beyond providing a distribution venue. The exchange holds Type 1 and Type 7 licenses from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, permitting it to trade securities on clients’ behalf and operate an automated trading service.
The Franklin Templeton listing is the latest in a series of real-world asset partnerships for HashKey. One week before the partnership was reported on August 25, 2026, HashKey announced plans to begin cross-border trade stablecoin transactions involving Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East.
That initiative is set to use HKDAP, identified as one of two regulated Hong Kong digital dollars. Together with the grBENJI distribution agreement, the projects add tokenized investment products and blockchain-based cross-border settlement to HashKey’s expanding regulated digital asset activities.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
