Franklin Templeton has teamed up with Ondo Finance to issue tokenized versions of its exchange-traded funds onchain, allowing investors to hold exposure directly in crypto wallets. The arrangement, first reported by Bloomberg and later confirmed by Ondo on X, creates a new distribution path beyond traditional brokerages and could enable near round‑the‑clock access to ETF exposure using blockchain rails.
The initial rollout will target markets in Europe, Asia‑Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America; availability in the United States will depend on regulatory clarity. Under the stated structure, Ondo will buy shares of Franklin Templeton ETFs and mint tokens through a special‑purpose vehicle that passes economic exposure to token holders. Those token holders receive rights to the funds’ returns rather than direct legal title to the underlying shares, a setup that makes the tokens usable as collateral and potentially integrable with decentralized finance protocols.
The offering is aimed at investors who primarily operate with crypto wallets and stablecoins, bypassing traditional brokerage infrastructure. Liquidity for the tokens will be provided by Ondo’s market‑making partners, including outside standard exchange trading hours. Bloomberg said the initial launch will include five funds covering U.S. equities, fixed income and gold, distributed via Ondo Global Markets. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.
The move follows a recent regulatory development for Ondo: in December the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed a multi‑year inquiry into the firm without bringing charges, a step that market participants say eased some regulatory uncertainty around its business.
Tokenized equity markets have expanded quickly over the past year. Data from RWA.xyz show the total value of tokenized equities rising from roughly $500 million in early 2025 to about $950 million by March 2026, with Ondo Finance representing roughly $562 million — about 60% of that market. Competing platforms such as Backed Finance (xStocks) and Securitize account for smaller portions of the market.
Despite that growth, most tokenized equity products remain concentrated outside the United States. In February, Kraken rolled out tokenized equity perpetual futures for eligible non‑U.S. clients, offering 24/7 leveraged exposure to U.S. indexes, gold and individual stocks including Nvidia, Apple and Tesla. Coinbase has also introduced stock perpetual futures for eligible non‑U.S. users, extending continuous access to equities alongside crypto markets. The New York Stock Exchange has signed an agreement with Securitize to explore blockchain‑based trading of stocks and ETFs, but timing and U.S. availability for such products remain uncertain.
The Franklin Templeton–Ondo initiative is another step toward bridging traditional ETF products with blockchain distribution, potentially widening access for crypto‑native investors while keeping final U.S. rollout dependent on regulatory developments.