Jenny Johnson, the president and CEO of Franklin Templeton, a company that manages over $1.3 trillion in assets, emphasised the importance of tokenization in the financial industry at the Fortune Global Forum in Abu Dhabi.
Johnson’s comments show a shift towards the wider possibilities of blockchain technology, particularly in democratising private markets and improving transactional efficiency through tokenization, in light of their recent application for a Bitcoin ETF.
Blockchain’s role in democratizing markets
Johnson distinguishes clearly between blockchain technology and Bitcoin. She acknowledges the market for Bitcoin ETFs, but what excites her about blockchain technology is its ability to revolutionise financial interactions.
She described how fractionalizing ownership of assets that were previously difficult to process is made easy by blockchain, which lowers costs and operational challenges. The customers of Franklin Templeton may benefit from new asset classes and special possibilities brought forth by this technical breakthrough.
Franklin Templeton has been using blockchain into its business strategy under Johnson’s direction. Along with developing a tokenized money market fund, the company is working on many blockchain-related initiatives. Johnson listed the advantages of blockchain technology, including atomic settlement, which lowers latency and removes the possibility of fraud, improving the effectiveness and transparency of financial transactions.
Future of finance with blockchain and crypto
Although Johnson has acknowledged the uncertainties surrounding the first Bitcoin spot ETF’s clearance, he is still upbeat about the potential effect.
She also discussed her own experience investing in cryptocurrencies, mentioning well-known options like Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Johnson sees Franklin Templeton growing its blockchain and cryptocurrency-related products in the future, in line with the changing financial industry.
