Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance are teaming up to bring traditional ETFs onto the blockchain, enabling around-the-clock trading for crypto users who don’t have access to conventional brokerage accounts.
The partnership will tokenize five Franklin Templeton exchange-traded funds and list them on Ondo’s tokenized securities platform, Ondo Global Markets. The initial lineup includes offerings such as Franklin Templeton’s high-yield corporate ETF, a focused growth ETF and a responsibly sourced gold ETF — a mix chosen by Ondo based on demand in its ecosystem. Ondo Global Markets has amassed more than $620 million in total value locked since launching last fall.
“This initial set of ETFs was selected by Ondo, based on demand they've recognized in their ecosystem,” Franklin Templeton Head of Innovation Sandy Kaul told Decrypt. Kaul said Franklin Templeton is taking a deliberate approach to put “institutional-grade products on-chain” and will evaluate future tokenizations according to investor appetite, usability and potential value.
Beyond trading, the firms will collaborate on educational programs aimed at showing how traditional investments can operate alongside “emerging financial ecosystems.” Kaul framed success not as a single metric but as expanding access while preserving the standards investors expect from Franklin Templeton — helping people use diversified strategies on-chain and integrate long-term investing into their crypto portfolios.
A crucial caveat: access to these tokenized ETFs on Ondo Global Markets is not open to U.S. investors — they are ineligible to trade on the platform. Ondo itself has been active in tokenization, having launched more than 100 tokenized U.S. equities on Ethereum last September.
Franklin Templeton is no newcomer to on-chain products. It launched the Franklin On-Chain U.S. Government Money Fund on Stellar in 2021, moved that offering to Ethereum in 2024, and has since expanded to multiple chains including Polygon, Aptos, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Solana and Base.
The announcement adds momentum to a broader industry push toward tokenized securities. It came a day after the New York Stock Exchange said it would work with Securitize (backed by BlackRock) on tokenizing securities, and follows Nasdaq’s recent SEC approval to test tokenized versions of certain securities in a pilot program.
Editor’s note: this story was updated after publication to replace press-release quotes with comments from Franklin Templeton.
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