Franklin Templeton adds $150 million in fund shares to XRP Ledger, all in one wallet

Franklin Templeton’s $150 Million XRP Ledger Injection

Franklin Templeton recently added about $150 million worth of shares from its tokenized short‑term money‑market fund to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The move more than triples the fund’s on‑chain balance, bringing the total to nearly 193 million sgBENJI shares—valued at roughly $200 million at the $1.039 per‑share price recorded on the ledger. All of these shares now sit in a single XRPL wallet that shares its authorized signers with Franklin’s issuing account, a structure that raises questions about investor transparency and custodial practices.

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Why the Consolidated Wallet Matters

The XRPL wallet holding the sgBENJI shares is an omnibus‑style account: it is controlled by eight signing addresses, any two of which can jointly approve a transaction. This dual‑signature model gives Franklin the ability to approve, freeze, or recover token balances, a feature that aligns with regulatory expectations for custodial oversight but also concentrates control in a single point.

While the wallet’s signers are identical to those of the issuer, the public ledger does not reveal whether the address represents a single institutional investor or aggregates multiple client holdings. Franklin’s fund documentation mentions a hybrid register that links on‑chain entries to off‑chain identity records, but the specifics of how ownership is tracked remain undisclosed.

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The Mechanics of the Subscription

On the Thursday of the transaction, Franklin’s issuing account posted two subscription receipts to the XRPL, each reflecting a $75 million cash infusion. The receipts triggered two batches of roughly 72.2 million shares, minted at the same $1.039 price point. The ledger entries provide a clear audit trail of the minting process but omit details such as the investors’ identities, the source of the cash, or any relationship to Franklin’s parallel Stellar‑based token offering.

The rapid increase in share count—quadrupling the on‑chain supply—demonstrates the fund’s ability to scale token issuance quickly, a capability that could be attractive to institutional clients seeking efficient on‑chain exposure to short‑term dollar‑denominated assets.

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Implications for the XRPL Ecosystem

Franklin’s position on the XRPL now ranks second among tokenized asset platforms, according to RWA.xyz, trailing only Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin (≈ $930 million) and ahead of competitors like Ondo. The fund’s presence underscores the growing interest in real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization on the XRPL, where issuers benefit from low‑cost transactions, fast finality, and built‑in compliance tools.

However, the use of a single omnibus wallet also highlights a tension between operational efficiency and investor transparency. Regulators and market participants may scrutinize whether such structures adequately protect individual investors, especially when the issuer retains the power to freeze or recover tokens.

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Looking Ahead

Franklin Templeton and its partner DBS have signaled plans to expand access to the sgBENJI token, including potential retail availability and token‑based lending products. If these initiatives materialize, the XRPL could see increased liquidity and broader use‑case adoption for tokenized money‑market instruments.

For investors, the key takeaways are:

• Control: Franklin retains significant control over the token, including freeze and recovery rights.
• Transparency: Ownership details are kept off‑chain, requiring trust in Franklin’s internal register.
• Liquidity Potential: Integration with DBS’s digital exchange could unlock secondary‑market trading and lending opportunities.

As the tokenized asset landscape evolves, monitoring how issuers balance custodial authority with investor rights will be essential for assessing the long‑term viability of on‑chain money‑market products.

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This article provides an overview of Franklin Templeton’s recent XRPL activity based on publicly available ledger data and company disclosures. No new quotations or proprietary data have been introduced.