Blockchain Will Lead the Future: Franklin Templeton CEO

• Franklin Templeton CEO calls Bitcoin a “fear currency” and blockchain as core infrastructure.
• Johnson asserted that blockchain rails, validators, and tokenization could reshape global markets.
• The CEO pointed out that regulation is the key issue for mutual funds and ETFs to move on-chain.

Bitcoin, which had garnered attention for its latest all-time high, has made headlines after Jenny Johnson, the CEO of Franklin Templeton, cited it as a ‘fear currency’. In an event, Jackson outlined a different view on digital assets and argued that while Bitcoin grabs headlines, the real story lies elsewhere, and emphasized that blockchain infrastructure represents the rails of the next financial system.

Johnson described Bitcoin being a refuge in countries with weak currencies or restricted banking systems and stressed that its role distracts from the larger opportunity ahead. She pointed to blockchain’s underlying technology as the foundation for change.

Blockchain Rails Over Tokens

At the SALT conference, Johnson explained her preference for the “picks and shovels” of digital finance, which implied the infrastructure powering the ecosystem. She described blockchain networks as digital highways where new financial products will operate.

Validators, in her view, are critical as they secure transactions and create trust in decentralized systems. For asset managers, validators could even introduce new levels of transparency. She said investors could one day watch real-time flows in companies, unlocking powerful insights.

Johnson highlighted the importance of tokenization as another driver of progress. Notably, Franklin Templeton has already launched tokenized funds, including its OnChain U.S. Government Market Fund. 

Johnson asserted that moving mutual funds and ETFs onto blockchains could reduce costs and improve efficiency, and also noted that blockchain-based financial products could allow faster settlement, clearer records, and fewer operational errors. These benefits, she explained, will eventually reshape how global capital markets operate.

Related: Strategy Eases Stock Sale Rules as Bitcoin Premium Shrinks

Regulation as the Main Barrier

Despite her optimism, Johnson acknowledged the hurdles and marked regulation as the biggest obstacle for progress and pointed out that governments still hesitate, because thousands of digital assets could fail, following which regulators worry about systemic risks, investor protection, and fraud.

The CEO further added that without clear frameworks, the broad migration of mutual funds and ETFs onto blockchains will remain delayed. Moreover, Franklin Templeton itself has leaned into blockchain despite these challenges. Under Johnson’s leadership since 2020, the firm expanded into digital assets and has launched crypto-related ETFs and embraced tokenized products, reflecting her belief that the infrastructure offers long-term rewards.

Further, she explained that asset managers must look beyond speculative tokens and concentrate in the rails that will carry the next generation of finance. Investing in infrastructure would enable managers to be ready in a market with transparency and speed facilitated by blockchain.

Johnson likened blockchain’s promise to past shifts in finance, wherein the winners might not be the assets themselves but the supporting platforms. Her message reinforced the view that blockchain represents more than hype, stating that it could fundamentally change how funds are issued, traded, and monitored. For Franklin Templeton, that vision means building on-chain systems today while waiting for regulators to catch up. The focus, she concluded, is not just about where Bitcoin trades, but about the rails being laid for the financial networks of tomorrow.

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