Franklin Templeton announced today that it will acquire 250 Digital, a liquid crypto strategies firm spun out of CoinFund Management, and fold it into a newly formed unit called Franklin Crypto. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, marks the most direct institutional commitment to active crypto management from one of the world’s largest asset managers.

Who Is 250 Digital

250 Digital was created by Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns, formerly of CoinFund, to focus on actively managed liquid cryptocurrency strategies. The firm targets institutional allocators rather than retail, running discretionary positions across major digital assets and DeFi protocols.

Under the deal, Perkins will head Franklin Crypto as CEO and Ginns will serve as chief investment officer. They will work alongside Franklin Templeton Digital Assets veteran Tony Pecore. The division reports to Sandy Kaul, Franklin Templeton’s head of innovation.

Why Now

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson framed the acquisition as adding investment talent and differentiated strategies to a digital assets lineup that has so far been dominated by passive products like Bitcoin ETFs.

Sandy Kaul was more direct about timing: “This big selloff that we had in the crypto markets is creating a very unique opportunity that really made us all decide that this is the right time to pull the trigger.”

Bitcoin is down roughly 46% from its all-time high and nearly 30% since the start of the year. Ethereum has fallen close to 50% from its peak. For large institutions comfortable with long time horizons, depressed valuations lower the cost of building active positions.

Franklin Templeton manages approximately $1.7 trillion in assets across more than 35 countries. The firm already offers several digital asset products including spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, but has not until now built out an in-house active management capability.

The BENJI Token Payment

One unusual detail: part of the acquisition price will be paid using BENJI tokens. These are tokens tied to Franklin Templeton’s on-chain U.S. Government Money Fund, which invests in short-duration Treasuries and money market instruments. Using tokenized fund shares as deal consideration is rare in traditional M&A and signals that Franklin Templeton is willing to treat its on-chain products as functional financial instruments, not just proof-of-concept experiments.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Targeting Pensions and Sovereign Wealth Funds

Franklin Crypto’s stated target market is large institutional pools including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. These allocators have been cautious about crypto given volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and the lack of credentialed active managers with track records comparable to what they see in equities or credit.

By bringing 250 Digital under the Franklin Templeton umbrella, the combined team gains access to the firm’s distribution network and compliance infrastructure. For CIOs at large pension funds, a crypto allocation running through a $1.7 trillion manager with full regulatory standing is a different proposition than investing in a standalone crypto-native fund.

Broader Institutional Momentum

The Franklin Templeton deal follows a string of institutional moves in the space. In March, Mastercard acquired stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion. Institutional lender FundBank bought Irish blockchain startup Trrue Chain for $11 million. Traditional financial firms have been adding crypto infrastructure during the market downturn, using lower valuations as cover to build positions and capabilities.

This pattern of institutional acquisition during bear or consolidation phases has historically preceded broader adoption cycles. Whether the current downturn follows that pattern depends partly on whether regulatory clarity arrives on schedule. The Senate Banking Committee markup on the CLARITY Act, expected between April 13 and 20, will be a key signal for how quickly large institutions are willing to accelerate their crypto allocations.

Franklin Crypto does not yet have a public launch date for its first institutional products.