Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s largest asset managers with $1.7 trillion under management, is partnering with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized versions of five ETFs through crypto wallets. The deal gives investors in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America 24/7 access to U.S. equities, fixed income, and gold without needing a traditional brokerage account.
A tokenized ETF is a blockchain-based token that represents ownership of an underlying exchange-traded fund. The token tracks the ETF’s price and can be held in a digital wallet, traded around the clock, and used as collateral in decentralized finance applications.
- Franklin Templeton will provide five ETFs covering U.S. equities, fixed income, and gold to be tokenized on Ondo Global Markets.
- Investors can trade these tokens 24/7 through crypto wallets on Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain, bypassing traditional brokerage hours and currency conversion friction.
- Ondo Finance holds roughly 60% of the tokenized equities market with over $700 million in total value locked and $12 billion in cumulative trading volume.
- U.S. access remains pending regulatory approval. The initial rollout targets Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America.
How the partnership works
Ondo will purchase Franklin Templeton ETF shares and issue corresponding tokens through a special-purpose vehicle. Investors receive economic exposure rights rather than direct ownership of the underlying shares. That structure allows the tokens to function as collateral in DeFi protocols or integrate into automated portfolio strategies.
The five funds span three asset classes: U.S. equities through the Franklin Focused Growth ETF and Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF, fixed income through the Franklin High Yield Corporate ETF and Franklin Income Equity Focus ETF, and gold through the Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF.
Distribution will run through Ondo Global Markets, which currently lists more than 250 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs across Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. Market makers on the platform provide liquidity outside standard trading hours, a feature aimed at investors who primarily operate through stablecoins and crypto wallets.
Why this matters for institutional adoption
The tokenized real-world asset market now exceeds $22 billion globally, with tokenized U.S. Treasuries alone surpassing $11 billion in on-chain value. Tokenized equities are a smaller but faster-growing segment, expanding from roughly $500 million in early 2025 to $950 million by March 2026.
Franklin Templeton is not new to blockchain infrastructure. The firm has been building on Stellar, Polygon, and Arbitrum since 2021. Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at the firm, has publicly stated that tokenized digital wallets will eventually hold the “totality” of an individual’s financial life.
This deal follows a string of traditional finance moves into tokenization. Invesco recently took over Superstate’s $900 million tokenized Treasury fund, and Morgan Stanley filed for the first bank-issued spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this month. The pattern is consistent: Wall Street firms are no longer experimenting with tokenization. They are shipping products.
Regulatory landscape
U.S. investors cannot access Ondo’s tokenized ETFs at launch. The rollout depends on regulatory clarity around on-chain distribution of registered funds, which remains unresolved despite recent progress. The SEC and CFTC’s joint classification of 16 crypto assets as digital commodities in March helped define boundaries between securities and commodities, but it did not address tokenized securities directly.
Outside the U.S., Ondo has secured regulatory passporting from Liechtenstein authorities, opening access to more than 30 European Economic Area countries. Distribution partners include Blockchain.com, Binance, and MetaMask. In December 2025, the SEC closed a multi-year investigation into Ondo without bringing charges, removing a significant legal overhang.
What comes next
Ondo recently partnered with Glider to let retail investors build and automate custom portfolios of tokenized assets. Combined with the Franklin Templeton deal, the platform is positioning itself as the default on-ramp for traditional finance products on-chain. The competitive question is whether rivals like Bitpanda, Securitize, and Backed Finance can close the gap before Ondo’s 60% market share becomes self-reinforcing through network effects and liquidity depth.
FAQ
What are the five Franklin Templeton ETFs being tokenized by Ondo?
The five funds are the Franklin Focused Growth ETF, Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF, Franklin High Yield Corporate ETF, Franklin Income Equity Focus ETF, and Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF. They cover U.S. equities, fixed income, and gold.
Can U.S. investors buy Ondo’s tokenized ETFs?
Not yet. The initial rollout covers Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. U.S. access depends on further regulatory clarity around distributing registered funds on-chain, which regulators have not yet addressed.
How does tokenized ETF trading differ from regular ETF trading?
Tokenized ETFs trade 24/7 through crypto wallets on blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, removing the need for a brokerage account and eliminating trading-hour restrictions. Investors hold tokens that track the ETF’s value and can use them as collateral in DeFi applications.
