Franklin Templeton to acquire crypto investment management firm 250 Digital

Franklin Templeton announced a plan to acquire 250 Digital, an active cryptocurrency investment management firm led by financial industry veterans Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns of CoinFund Management. The acquisition would include 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. Following Franklin Templeton’s acquisition of 250 Digital, Perkins will head the division and Ginns will serve as Chief Investment Officer, leading the newly formed Franklin Crypto unit alongside Franklin Templeton Digital Assets investment veteran Tony Pecore, bringing together crypto-native expertise with Franklin Templeton’s global distribution to target institutional growth. Reporting to Sandy Kaul, Head of Innovation for Franklin Templeton, 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. Franklin Templeton Digital Assets manages approximately $1.8B in global assets as of December 31, 2025. The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2026, subject to the execution of definitive transaction agreements, client consents and other customary closing conditions, and will incorporate BENJI tokens as payment consideration, marking an important and innovative step toward conducting M&A transactions on chain. The Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, better known as BENJI, launched in 2021 and is the world’s first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain-integrated technology to process transactions and record share ownership.