Franklin Templeton has launched a tokenized US dollar money market fund for professional investors in Hong Kong, expanding its crypto offerings in Asia.
According to a statement shared with Cointelegraph on Wednesday, the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is the first end-to-end tokenized structure by an asset manager to integrate issuance, distribution, and servicing directly onchain in Hong Kong.
The tokenized fund will be initially available only to institutional and professional investors. It is registered in Luxembourg under a regulated framework that allows investment funds to be sold across the European Union.
The fund uses Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain recordkeeping system, while seeking to provide income and preserve capital through investments in short-term US government treasurys.
While access remains limited at launch, Tariq Ahmad, Franklin Templeton’s head of Asia-Pacific, said it plans to offer “a retail-approved tokenized fund, subject to SFC approval."
Brian Chen, head of OSL Wealth Management, which is supporting the launch as a regulated distribution partner, said “Hong Kong is becoming an institutionally trusted hub for digital assets.”
The move from Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s largest asset managers, follows China Asset Management (Hong Kong)’s launch of its first tokenized product, the ChinaAMC HKD Digital Money Market Fund, announced in February.
Hong Kong Advances Asset Tokenization
Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong operates under a defined regulatory framework for digital assets. This has enabled the city to emerge as a regional center for crypto innovation and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization initiatives.
In August, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority unveiled the Project Ensemble sandbox to explore how real-world assets can be tokenized and settled between banks through a wholesale central bank digital currency.
The project builds on earlier initiatives, including the development of wCBDC, a wholesale central bank digital currency launched in March 2024 to support asset tokenization.
In September, UBS, Chainlink, and DigiFT launched a pilot in Hong Kong to test automated fund tokenization using blockchain infrastructure for onchain settlement and lifecycle management.
In November, the HKMA outlined its RWA tokenization plans under its five-year Fintech 2030 strategy, which includes plans to issue tokenized government bonds and explore tokenized Exchange Fund papers alongside the rollout of its e-HKD stablecoin.