- Franklin Templeton agrees to acquire 250 Digital, a CoinFund spinoff.
- New crypto division to be named Franklin Crypto.
- Focus on institutional investors including pensions and sovereign wealth funds.
- Firm manages over $1.7 trillion in assets.
- Deal terms were not disclosed.
- 250 Digital led by Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns.
- Franklin entered crypto in 2018 and has ~50-member digital assets team.
Franklin Templeton has agreed to acquire 250 Digital, a spinoff from venture firm CoinFund, as part of its strategy to expand its cryptocurrency investment offerings. The acquisition will lead to the formation of a new crypto-focused division named Franklin Crypto. This unit will concentrate on providing investment strategies tailored to institutional investors, including pensions and sovereign wealth funds.
Strategic Expansion in Crypto
Franklin Templeton, which manages more than $1.7 trillion in assets, has been active in the digital asset space since 2018. The firm already operates a digital assets team of approximately 50 professionals and offers a tokenized money market fund. It was also among the first issuers of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds in the United States following their launches in January and July 2024.
Leadership and Market Context: 250 Digital was spun off from CoinFund in January and is led by CoinFund executives Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns. Following the deal’s completion, the team is expected to integrate into Franklin’s broader crypto strategy. Sandy Kaul, Franklin Templeton’s head of innovation, stated that recent market conditions influenced the timing of the acquisition. She noted that the crypto market selloff created an opportunity to establish a more stable environment for top crypto trading talent.
