Franklin Templeton CEO Holds Bitcoin, Ether in Portfolio: Details Revealed

• Franklin Templeton CEO Discusses Cryptocurrency Holdings
• Johnson's View on Bitcoin
• Bitcoin's Role as a Global Currency
• Johnson on Bitcoin Investment
• Franklin Templeton's Blockchain Integration

Franklin Templeton CEO Discusses Cryptocurrency Holdings

Jenny Johnson, CEO of global investment firm Franklin$0.0015 -3.24% Templeton, revealed in a Fortune interview that she holds cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), uniswap (UNI), and sushi (SUSHI) in her portfolio. Although these investments make up a small portion of her overall portfolio, Johnson expressed confidence in the potential of the blockchain technology that underpins these digital assets.

Johnson's View on Bitcoin

Despite holding bitcoin, Johnson has expressed mixed feelings about this pioneering cryptocurrency. She sees the potential for blockchain technology to reshape the financial system, but views bitcoin as a possible distraction from this larger transformation. She raised the possibility of regulatory action if bitcoin's growth threatened the status of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Bitcoin's Role as a Global Currency

Johnson elaborated, If bitcoin ever became so large that it threatened the U.S. dollar's role as the reserve currency, it's likely the U.S. would restrict the use of bitcoin. National currencies are critical tools for governments to manage their economies, and it's unlikely they would surrender this power to a global currency.

Johnson on Bitcoin Investment

She suggested a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be a more suitable method for acquiring exposure to bitcoin, rather than direct investment. Nonetheless, she emphasized the need for investors to be responsible when allocating bitcoin due to its volatile nature.

Franklin Templeton's Blockchain Integration

Franklin Templeton, with approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management, has embraced blockchain technology. The firm offers the OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX), which operates on the Stellar and Ethereum$2,315 -2.42% layer 2 blockchain platform, Polygon$0.967 -3.65%. The company has yet to provide further details about its blockchain initiatives.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker