As tokenisation gathers momentum across global capital markets, Robert Crossley, head of thematic research at Franklin Templeton, argues that the industry is only just beginning to grasp the transformative implications of blockchain-based finance.
Crossley brings a wealth of experience to Franklin Templeton’s digital strategy efforts. For the past decade, his focus has shifted from market trading to high-level strategic research, engaging directly with the C-suites of major asset managers, pension funds, and wealth managers – an audience managing between $50-$60 trillion in assets. His mission: to distill actionable insights from the industry’s front lines.
Now, Crossley is leading the charge at Franklin Templeton, a firm that he says “had the long-term vision, infrastructure, and strategic clarity to recognise the disruptive potential of blockchain technology.” Franklin’s early move to deploy tokenised funds, he adds, wasn’t just technological theatre.
“We launched the first tokenised US ’40 Act money market fund back in April 2021 – not as a proof of concept, but as a production-grade product with real-world benefits.”
According to Crossley, the term “tokenisation” is often misunderstood. Too often, it’s equated simply with digitising an asset and putting it on chain. That, he says, misses the point. “Tokenisation is the last mile. The more significant shift is the adoption of blockchain infrastructure. It’s not about putting old wine in new bottles – it’s about rearchitecting the system to enable real-time ownership, programmability of assets, and lower operational friction.”
One of the most profound changes blockchain enables, Crossley argues, is in cost structure. “It transforms the fixed and variable cost base of asset management. You can update shareholder registers in real time, pay interest in real time, and control collateral in real time. Those are not incremental improvements – they’re game changers.”
He is particularly focused on the idea that digital infrastructure unlocks entirely new asset classes. “Ninety percent of the value in the S&P 500 today is intangible – IP, code and intent. But investors can’t own those assets directly. Blockchain enables direct ownership of intangible value, which opens up whole new avenues for capital deployment.”
Crossley cites the blockchain Ethereum as an example of value creation that sits entirely outside traditional capital structures. “Ethereum is not a company. It has no equity, no debt, and yet, if it were a company, it would be among the fastest to $10 billion in annual revenues. What you’re seeing is value creation occurring on platforms, not just in corporations. As asset managers, we can’t afford to ignore that shift.”
He sees tokenised money market funds as the vanguard. Franklin’s tokenised “Benji” fund – initially launched in the U.S. and more recently in Luxembourg – offers investors daily interest payments (with intraday payments soon possible), full on-chain shareholder registers, and greater flexibility around collateral use.
“These funds act as a bridge between traditional finance and decentralised digital finance,” says Crossley. “Unlike stablecoins, which offer no interest and limited transparency, tokenised money market funds are hard, regulated assets. They’re what’s enabling the direct exchange of value across financial systems.”
Usage of the Benji fund has been wide-ranging: from corporate treasurers seeking real-time liquidity control, to crypto exchanges using the fund as high-quality collateral, to retail investors drawn by the transparency of daily interest payments. Franklin Templeton currently has approximately $750 million in AUM across its tokenised money market offerings.
Yet, Crossley is quick to note that the scale of AUM is a lagging indicator. “Whether it’s $50 or $500 billion, that tells you more about adoption than about innovation. The meaningful change is the shift in infrastructure, and that’s happening beneath the surface.”
So, what are the barriers to wider adoption?
“The regulatory climate, particularly in the US, is changing. There’s been a political shift from hostility to engagement. Regulators are increasingly willing to examine the technology on its merits. That’s crucial, because without regulatory clarity, the industry can’t scale responsibly.”
Franklin Templeton has played a key role in these regulatory conversations, including working closely with the SEC and European regulators to ensure that its products meet high standards for resilience and transparency. “It’s a bilateral education process,” Crossley says. “It makes the product better, and it makes the regulators better informed.”
Asked about the contentious issue of private versus public blockchains, Crossley is unequivocal. “Public chains are the future. They offer transparency, security, and community-driven innovation. Private blockchains can be useful, but they’re really just permissioned databases with a blockchain veneer. The real benefits accrue only when the infrastructure is truly decentralised and programmable.”
Looking ahead, Crossley sees tokenisation as just one manifestation of a larger industry evolution. “Digital assets are the next generation of alternatives. What matters is not just what gets tokenised, but how intelligently that tokenisation is applied. The aim must be to deliver real-world benefits: efficiency, security and utility.”
He cautions against tokenisation for tokenisation’s sake: “You need to be clear about the use case. If you’re not improving access, control, or functionality, then why do it? This is not about gimmicks – it’s about reshaping the financial system to better serve clients.”
Though he declines to confirm future product launches, Crossley hints that Franklin Templeton’s work is far from done. “This is not the end. This is the beginning.”
As institutional and retail investors alike begin to recognise the operational and strategic upside of blockchain, Crossley believes the tipping point is approaching. “We’ll soon live in a world where your portfolio view spans traditional assets in accounts and digital assets in wallets. The most efficient form of an asset will vary by use case, and digital will increasingly be the optimal form.”
The Funds Europe-Caceis report into tokenisation can be viewed by following this link.
