Key facts
- Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes public blockchains threaten Wall Street's fee-based revenue models.
- Johnson stated that banks and intermediaries risk losing income as smart contracts handle functions at lower costs.
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson stated that public blockchains threaten Wall Street's fee-based revenue streams, not its technology. She highlighted cost savings using blockchain for transactions, citing Franklin Templeton's tokenized money market fund, Benji, and a new partnership with MoonPay for institutional investors.
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes that public blockchains pose a threat to the fee-based revenue streams of traditional financial institutions, rather than their core technology. Speaking at the Proof of Talk summit, Johnson explained that banks and intermediaries risk losing income as smart contracts can perform settlement functions at a significantly lower cost. She cited Franklin Templeton's tokenized money market fund, Benji, which demonstrated cost savings by processing transactions on the Stellar blockchain at $1.13 per transaction, compared to $1.30 on their legacy system. The firm has also partnered with MoonPay to facilitate on-chain workflows for institutional investors moving between stablecoins and tokenized funds. Franklin Templeton has been actively involved in digital assets since 2018, launching the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) and a Bitcoin/Ethereum separately managed account. The firm also plans to acquire 250 Digital to establish Franklin Crypto, focusing on institutional-scale cryptocurrency investment strategies, with BENJI tokens used in the acquisition payment.
This perspective from a major asset manager highlights the disruptive potential of blockchain technology on established financial intermediaries, suggesting that the shift towards decentralized finance is driven by economic efficiency rather than a rejection of existing financial infrastructure.