Franklin Templeton Aims to Strengthen Digital Asset Capabilities With 250 Digital Acquisition

Global investment firm Franklin Templeton plans to strengthen its digital asset capabilities by acquiring 250 Digital, a cryptocurrency investment management firm spun off from CoinFund Management.

The planned acquisition would include the 250 Digital investment team and the liquid cryptocurrency strategies previously run by CoinFund, and Templeton would invest in those strategies, the companies said in a Wednesday (April 1) press release.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, according to the release.

Upon the closing of the acquisition, a newly formed Franklin Crypto unit will be led by Christoper Perkins and Seth Ginns of CoinFund, who currently leads 250 Digital, alongside Tony Pecore, a Franklin Templeton Digital Assets investment veteran. Franklin Crypto will report to Sandy Kaul, head of innovation for Franklin Templeton, per the release.

“This is an exciting addition for Franklin Templeton, and we’re pleased to welcome Chris, Seth and the 250 Digital team to our firm,” Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson said in the release. “Together, their investment talent and differentiated strategies strengthen our capabilities in digital assets and position us among a small group of global asset managers with a dedicated, institutional-grade crypto investment management team, enhancing our ability to serve clients worldwide.”

Perkins said in the release that the Franklin Crypto unit will be positioned as the global leader in digital asset management.

“Crypto’s institutional moment has arrived, and Franklin Crypto will help our global clients navigate this complex and rapidly evolving asset class by delivering the expertise, knowledge and digital asset products that meet their sophisticated investment needs,” Perkins said.

Franklin Templeton has been active in digital asset investing and blockchain innovation since 2018, and Franklin Templeton Digital Assets manages $1.8 billion in global assets, as of Dec. 31, 2025, according to the release.

In one recent move, Franklin Templeton partnered with Ripple and Singapore-based DBS Bank to launch trading and lending solutions powered by tokenized money market funds and stablecoins.

The partnership will see DBS’s Digital Exchange list sgBENJI — the token of Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market fund — alongside Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, allowing DBS clients to trade RLUSD for sgBENJI tokens and “rebalance their portfolios into a relatively stable asset 24/7 and within minutes, while earning yield during periods of volatility,” Ripple said at the time in a press release.