BREAKING: Franklin Templeton Acquires Crypto Investment Firm 250 Digital, Expanding Digital Asset Footprint

Mutual fund giant Franklin Templeton has acquired crypto investment firm 250 Digital in a landmark deal that signals deepening institutional adoption of digital assets. The acquisition, announced April 1, 2026, will see 250 Digital integrated into Franklin Templeton's newly established Franklin Crypto division, with the transaction partially settled using BENJI tokens—the blockchain-based representation of the firm's OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund. The deal is expected to close in Q2 2026, marking a strategic expansion of traditional finance's infrastructure into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Franklin Templeton x 250 Digital: Details

The acquisition includes the 250 Digital investment team and all liquid cryptocurrency strategies previously run by CoinFund. Franklin Templeton will invest in the strategies as part of the agreement. “This is an exciting addition for Franklin Templeton, and we’re pleased to welcome Chris, Seth, and the 250 Digital team to our firm,” said Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton. “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.”

In addition, Franklin Crypto will expand Franklin Templeton’s existing suite of crypto and blockchain VC investment offerings and will broaden the firm’s digital assets investment management platform.

The move is part of a broader trend of institutions favoring yield and sophisticated active strategies as passive crypto products mature. Institutions like JPMorgan and Bank of America have begun favoring yield and sophisticated active strategies as passive crypto products (like the spot bitcoin and ether ETFs) mature. Despite a slow start to 2026 led by Bitcoin’s continued skid, there is still optimism that the crypto industry is here to stay in modern finance.

Furthermore, Franklin Templeton already has strong roots in active crypto investing. It has become one of the more progressive legacy finance firms when it comes to crypto, which has blown up as an industry in the US in recent years. Its footprint in digital assets spans crypto ETFs, traditional funds tokenized on public blockchains, and partnerships with major crypto industry players like Binance. Now, its own crypto unit will open up more offerings to Franklin Templeton customers.