Franklin Templeton Drops the 'GM' Mic and Enters the Arena With New Crypto Division

Wall Street veteran Franklin Templeton is officially going full degen with the launch of Franklin Crypto, a dedicated cryptocurrency division built around the planned acquisition of crypto investment firm 250 Digital. The new unit will mash together the 250 Digital squad and its liquid crypto strategies — previously shepherded by CoinFund — under one roof, targeting the institutional crowd that's been side-eyeing crypto from the safety of the sidelines. Former CoinFund heavy hitter Christopher Perkins will run the division, with Seth Ginns stepping in as chief investment officer alongside Franklin Templeton's own digital assets veteran Tony Pecore. The whole operation reports to Sandy Kaul, the firm's head of innovation, because of course there's an innovation head now. This power move builds on Franklin Templeton's existing digital asset empire, which already manages a cool $1.8 billion, and signals a clear pivot from passive exposure — looking at you, ETFs — toward building out some actual active crypto muscle. "This is an exciting addition for Franklin Templeton," CEO Jenny Johnson said, noting the deal beefs up the firm's ability to throw dedicated crypto expertise at clients worldwide. The launch of Franklin Crypto is part of a bigger pattern where fat-cat asset managers are tired of just holding the bag on spot ETFs and want actual in-house crypto cred. Perkins put it plainly: "Crypto's