The SEC issued a no-action letter to Franklin Templeton, clearing the way for its traditional registered funds to invest in BENJI, its blockchain-based OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund on Stellar. The approval lets conventional funds access operational advantages including faster transaction processing and more frequent pricing updates without meeting certain custody requirements.
The SEC issued a no-action letter to Franklin Templeton, clearing the way for its traditional registered funds to invest in BENJI, the company's blockchain-based OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund on Stellar. The decision means conventional Franklin funds can hold BENJI shares without meeting certain physical-vault custody requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940. This enables registered mutual funds and ETFs to access operational advantages of BENJI's Stellar-based infrastructure, including faster transaction processing and more frequent pricing updates. Franklin's integrated record-keeping system combines on-chain Stellar transactions with off-chain book-entry data, with Franklin Investor Services maintaining control of blockchain wallets and private keys. The fund, which launched on Stellar in 2021, holds approximately $726 million in assets under management.
