Franklin Templeton Acquires 250 Digital to Establish Dedicated Crypto Division
- Asset management firm Franklin Templeton launched a dedicated crypto division following its acquisition of 250 Digital, a CoinFund spinoff.
- The M&A transaction utilizes the firm’s native BENJI tokens for partial payment consideration.
- The expansion targets sovereign wealth funds and pensions, aligning with a projected $37 billion crypto M&A market in 2026.
Franklin Templeton, the global investment firm managing over $1.7 trillion in traditional assets, formally launched a specialized crypto division on April 1, 2026. This organizational restructuring indicates a calculated expansion into digital asset markets by legacy financial institutions.
The new business unit, named Franklin Crypto, is anchored by the acquisition of 250 Digital. 250 Digital is an active cryptocurrency investment management firm recently spun out of CoinFund Management LLC. The acquisition integrates the firm’s existing personnel and all of its liquid cryptocurrency strategies into Franklin Templeton’s broader portfolio.
Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns, industry veterans from 250 Digital, will transition to leadership roles within the acquiring firm. Perkins will head the new division, and Ginns will serve as Chief Investment Officer. They will operate alongside Franklin Templeton digital assets executive Tony Pecore, reporting directly to Sandy Kaul, the firm’s Head of Innovation.
“Crypto’s institutional moment has arrived,” Perkins said regarding the acquisition. He pointed to growing interest from large-scale capital allocators seeking structured exposure to digital assets.
The establishment of this internal division points to measurable shifts in institutional asset allocation. Franklin Crypto will specifically target pensions, sovereign wealth funds, and large institutional investors seeking regulated investment vehicles.
The deal structure incorporates BENJI tokens as part of the payment consideration. BENJI is a tokenized asset linked to the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund. This specific payment method marks an operational shift toward executing corporate mergers and acquisitions directly on blockchain infrastructure.
The transaction is scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2026, pending standard regulatory and client approvals. Market analysts monitor these institutional acquisitions as leading indicators for fiat liquidity, with industry projections estimating total crypto M&A deal volume will exceed $37 billion throughout 2026.
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