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Acquisition · Crypto · Digital Assets · Institutional Investment
Franklin Templeton, a traditional finance giant managing over $1.7 trillion in assets, has agreed to acquire 250 Digital, a recent spinoff from venture firm CoinFund, to significantly expand its cryptocurrency investment offerings, establishing a new arm called Franklin Crypto focused on institutional investors.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition includes 250 Digital's investment team and all liquid cryptocurrency strategies previously managed by CoinFund. Franklin Templeton will invest in these strategies as part of the agreement.
Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns, former CoinFund executives who led 250 Digital, will now co-lead Franklin Crypto alongside Franklin Templeton's Digital Assets investment veteran Tony Pecore, reporting to Head of Innovation Sandy Kaul. Perkins stated that "Crypto's institutional moment has arrived," emphasizing the new arm's focus on pensions, sovereign-wealth funds, and other sophisticated institutional clients.
Franklin Templeton already possesses a digital assets team of approximately 50 people, having entered the crypto industry in 2018, and launched a tokenized money market fund (BENJI) in 2021. The firm was also among the first to issue spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds in the U.S. in January and July 2024, respectively.
This acquisition broadens Franklin Templeton’s existing suite of crypto and blockchain venture capital investment offerings and expands its overall digital assets investment management platform.