Franklin Templeton moves to acquire CoinFund subsidiary… “Expanding crypto business”

Global asset manager Franklin Templeton is acquiring a subsidiary of venture capital (VC) firm CoinFund as it seeks to expand its crypto business.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 1st (local time), Franklin Templeton recently decided to acquire CoinFund’s subsidiary “250 Digital.” Spun out from CoinFund in January, 250 Digital is led by former CoinFund executives Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns.

After acquiring 250 Digital, Franklin Templeton plans to establish “Franklin Crypto.” Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at Franklin Templeton, told the WSJ that “the new crypto business unit will offer attractive investment strategies to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors.”

The deal drew attention as the crypto market has remained sluggish since the second half of last year. Kaul said, “The recent wave of large-scale selling in the crypto market has created a highly unusual opportunity,” adding, “We concluded that now is the time to act boldly.”

The WSJ said, “Wall Street is no longer rushing for the exits every time crypto prices fall.” It added, “While the 2022 crypto crash was accompanied by a cascade of collapses at major institutions that rattled investor confidence, this market cycle is showing greater resilience than before.”