Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has partnered with Franklin Templeton to build tokenized investment products for institutions. The May 12 announcement marks a convergence of two divergent strategies: Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-native fund infrastructure meets Kraken’s trading and custody capabilities. The partnership will integrate Franklin Templeton’s BENJI tokenized money market funds into Kraken’s platform while developing new tokenized yield products, equities, and actively managed onchain funds.
Two Paths Converge on Tokenization
Tokenization converts traditional assets—stocks, bonds, money market funds—onto blockchain networks for digital trading and settlement. Franklin Templeton has built blockchain products directly; Payward positioned itself as infrastructure for crypto trading and custody. The partnership bridges this gap. Kraken’s xStocks platform, launched in 2025, has processed $30 billion in trading volume for tokenized equities. BENJI, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market funds, will now integrate into Kraken’s ecosystem as collateral and cash management tools. This enables 24/7 asset movement versus traditional banking hours—a structural advantage institutions cannot ignore.
Institutional Adoption Accelerates Across Wall Street
Tokenized Treasuries and asset-backed securities have expanded rapidly. BlackRock, Fidelity, and JPMorgan have all launched blockchain products over the past two years. Payward’s planned $20 billion valuation IPO signals confidence in the sector’s scale. The partnership positions both firms against established competitors. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi leads the exchange’s institutional expansion. No specific product launch timeline has been disclosed, nor details on which jurisdictions will allow retail access. Custody specifications for the new products remain unclear.
What Tokenized Products Actually Enable
Tokenized assets settle in minutes instead of days. Institutions can use BENJI funds as working capital without traditional banking intermediaries. Actively managed onchain funds remove barriers between traditional asset managers and crypto investors. This represents a fundamental shift: Wall Street is no longer debating whether to tokenize, but how to scale it. The partnership’s scope—yield products, equities, custody, and managed funds—signals intention to compete for trillions in institutional assets currently locked in traditional finance.
Next Milestones Remain Undefined
The partnership is live as of May 12, but product rollout timelines are absent from the announcement. Regulatory approval for retail tokenized products in major jurisdictions remains uncertain. Payward’s IPO valuation and timeline will test institutional appetite for this sector. Watch for: specific launch dates for yield products, custody service specifications, and jurisdictional rollout plans. Each milestone will signal whether tokenized finance becomes mainstream infrastructure or remains a niche institutional tool.
