Franklin Templeton Pioneers Digital Assets, Educating SEC on Blockchain Value
Summary:
Financial technologists are strategizing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to shape the future of digital assets, as explained by Franklin Templeton's digital asset lead, Roger Bayston. The company, a long-standing financial entity, has maintained cooperative relations with global regulators, contributing to its resilience. It recently launched the Franklin OnChain U.S Government Money Fund, after educating the SEC about blockchain applications. Bayston discussed the parallels between tokenized money funds and stablecoins, emphasized Franklin Templeton's optimism about cryptocurrencies, and noted the importance of digital currencies in current investment strategies, comparing it to the tech stocks of the past.
With the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States, financial technologists are engaging in a long-term strategy game. Roger Bayston, Franklin Templeton's chief of digital assets, recognizes this as part and parcel of dealing with regulatory bodies like the SEC, which leans on legal precedents, many of which are being established in courtrooms. He shared these insights with Cointelegraph's Turner Wright during the Consensus forum. Bayston views the SEC's commonly criticized "open door" scheme less cynically, regarding it as an economic safeguard rather than an impenetrable obstacle. He asserted their longstanding 76-year-old business wouldn't have flourished without cooperative demeanor towards international regulators, hard work, and tenacity. He noticed the winds of change blowing at the SEC, contrasting current relations favorably against last year's.
Franklin Templeton’s digital asset venture saw the light in 2023 with the introduction of its Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, colloquially known as "the Benji". The voyage to this feat took almost half a decade, during which they worked closely with the SEC to shed light on the application of blockchain technology in mutual funds operations.
Bayston views tokenized money funds in the same light as stable coins – a situation where consumers entrust operators with their funds, which are then invested, and returns are accrued to the operators. Bayston believes this mechanism, which has seen banks and money funds coexist for a considerable time period, will persist. He espoused Franklin Templeton's optimism towards cryptocurrency, emphasizing faith in the underlying technology and the value its tokens could represent when properly structured. He compares the significance of cryptocurrency in contemporary investment portfolios to the tech stocks of three decades ago.
Franklin Templeton's request for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund was submitted later than competing applications. The SEC deferred the decision on their application to June 11. However, the approval came through earlier on May 23, neither taking Franklin Templeton aback, nor giving anyone an undue advantage in the industry's infancy.
Published At
6/1/2024 9:28:04 AM
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