Franklin Templeton transforms its money market fund into a stablecoin reserve instrument

Franklin Templeton announced the compatibility of its two institutional money market funds with blockchain finance, aiming to position them for the growing market of tokenized assets and regulated stablecoins. This update applies to the Western Asset Institutional Treasury Obligations Fund (LUIXX) and the Western Asset Institutional Treasury Reserves Fund (DIGXX), both managed by its subsidiary, Western Asset Management. Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, stated that traditional funds are already moving onto the blockchain, so the focus is on making them more accessible to a wider audience. The LUIXX fund has been modified to comply with the GENIUS Act, which sets reserve standards for regulated stablecoins. The fund currently holds only short-term U.S. Treasury securities with maturities of less than 93 days, which can be used as a stablecoin reserve instrument. The DIGXX fund has launched a digital institutional equity class designed specifically for distribution on blockchain platforms, allowing approved intermediaries to record and transfer ownership of fund shares on-chain. (CoinDesk)