Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is working with asset manager Franklin Templeton to expand the use of tokenized financial products for institutional investors.
The companies announced Tuesday that they will develop a range of blockchain-based investment offerings, including tokenized yield products, tokenized stocks and custody services linked to digital assets.
The move comes as major financial firms consider testing tokenized versions of conventional assets. BlackRock, Fidelity and JPMorgan have all expanded blockchain-related financial products over the past two years, particularly tokenized Treasuries and money market funds.
Tokenization refers to the representation of traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds or money market funds on blockchain networks, where they can be traded and settled digitally. Proponents argue that this approach can reduce settlement times, expand market access, and allow assets to flow more easily between financial platforms.
The collaboration joins two companies that have taken different paths toward tokenized finance. Franklin Templeton has spent years creating blockchain-based investment products. Payward has focused on crypto trading infrastructure through Kraken and its tokenized stocks platform xStocks, which the company says has processed more than $30 billion in trading volume since its launch in 2025.
The companies plan to explore actively managed tokenized investment products that could be traded on-chain and become available to institutional investors and, in some jurisdictions, retail users of Kraken.
Kraken also plans to integrate BENJI, Franklin Templeton’s suite of tokenized money market funds, into its platform. The funds could serve as collateral or cash management tools for institutional clients seeking blockchain-based alternatives to traditional treasury operations.
Analysts view tokenized Treasury funds as one of the fastest-growing digital asset sectors because they offer returns linked to government securities while operating on blockchain rails. In practice, this can allow institutions to move collateral around the clock instead of waiting for bank hours or multi-day settlement periods.
Read more: Kraken parent Payward seeks $20 billion in new funding ahead of planned IPO
