Hong Kong-based digital asset platform HashKey Exchange has partnered with Franklin Templeton to distribute the asset manager’s tokenized money market fund to eligible investors in Asia.
The companies said the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund, known as grBENJI, became available through the HashKey Exchange Earn channel on August 24. Access is limited to professional investors, and the product is not being offered to the public in Hong Kong.
The fund invests mainly in US government securities, repurchase agreements and US dollar cash assets. Its interests are represented using blockchain-based recordkeeping infrastructure, while the underlying exposure remains in traditional financial instruments.
Access through HashKey Earn
An official product notice says eligible clients can subscribe to and redeem grBENJI in US dollars through the Earn channel. The platform lists an expected T+1 settlement period, subject to Franklin Templeton’s dealing calendar and operational processing.
The notice lists a minimum subscription of $25 and a minimum redemption of $1. HashKey says it charges no platform subscription fee and a 0.1 percent platform redemption fee, although product terms and processing arrangements may change.
HashKey also states that grBENJI cannot currently be deposited to or withdrawn from external wallets, transferred between HashKey users or traded on a secondary market through the platform. Investors can exit through the Earn channel’s redemption process.
The product is classified as complex. HashKey cautions that the fund’s aim of maintaining a net asset value of about $1 per share is not a guarantee of principal, net asset value or investment return. It also identifies market, interest-rate, liquidity, technology, service-provider and regulatory risks.
Expanding tokenized fund distribution
The partnership gives Franklin Templeton another regulated digital asset distribution channel in Asia and adds an established asset manager’s tokenized product to HashKey’s investment platform.
Haiyang Ru, chief executive officer of HashKey Exchange BG, said the collaboration is intended to address demand from institutional investors for products linked to real-world assets. Chetan Karkhanis, Franklin Templeton’s senior vice president for digital assets client engagement, said the launch broadens the firm’s reach among digital-native banking, wealth platform and institutional clients.
The companies said they plan to explore additional tokenized products and asset classes but did not announce a timeline. HashKey Exchange operates in Hong Kong under Securities and Futures Commission Type 1 and Type 7 licenses and a virtual asset trading platform license under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance.