According to sources familiar with the matter, Franklin Templeton, the prominent $1.6 trillion U.S. asset manager based in Silicon Valley, is exploring the creation of a new investment fund centered on cryptocurrencies, as reported by The Information. The proposed fund, designed for institutional investors, aims to diversify beyond bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), potentially including other cryptocurrencies. Additionally, there are considerations to distribute staking rewards to investors. Franklin Templeton joins a cohort of traditional finance giants entering the digital asset space to provide clients with opportunities in crypto and tokenized assets. The firm recently launched a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. and is seeking approval for a similar product for ether. Furthermore, it established a tokenized U.S. government bond fund on the Stellar (XLM) network in 2021, preceding BlackRock’s entry into this arena.