Franklin Templeton and Frankfurt School Centre for Digital Economics announce strategic partnership
Collaboration focuses on education, knowledge exchange and responsible innovation in digital assets and emerging financial technologies
Franklin Templeton, a leading global asset manager, and the Centre for Digital Economics (C4DE) at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management today announced a strategic partnership. The collaboration is designed to strengthen education, knowledge exchange and industry dialogue around digital assets, blockchain technology and the broader evolution of financial market infrastructure in Germany with content and initiatives aimed at students, financial professionals, institutional market participants and other stakeholders across the digital assets ecosystem.
Through the partnership, Franklin Templeton and C4DE will work together to support selected educational and knowledge sharing initiatives. These may include workshops, expert dialogue, participation in industry events and thought leadership on relevant developments in digital finance. The collaboration combines Franklin Templeton’s global investment and digital assets expertise with C4DE’s academic research, technical capabilities and strong network across policy, industry and the startup ecosystem.
The partnership also centers around Franklin Templeton’s pioneering global work with The Benji Technology Platform, the firm’s proprietary blockchain-integrated stack, designed to facilitate trading, management, and administration of token-based investments. This platform reflects Franklin Templeton’s commitment to exploring how distributed ledger technology can support more efficient, transparent and accessible investment infrastructure.
Christian Machts, Head of Germany and Austria, Franklin Templeton, said: “With The Benji Technology Platform, Franklin Templeton is at the forefront of asset tokenization globally. This partnership with Frankfurt School’s Centre for Digital Economics is an important step in bringing that innovation closer to the German market, strengthening dialogue with clients and partners, and exploring practical applications for digital assets with a clear focus on client needs and market relevance.”
Professor Co-Pierre Georg, Director of the Frankfurt School Centre for Digital Economics, said: “We are pleased to welcome Franklin Templeton as a strategic partner. C4DE combines academic expertise, applied research and education across digital assets and emerging technologies. Together, we aim to foster knowledge exchange and support a constructive dialogue between academia, industry and the wider financial ecosystem.”
About Franklin Templeton Digital Assets
Franklin Templeton is a pioneer in digital asset investing and blockchain innovation, combining tokenomics research, data science, and technical expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions since 2018. The Benji Technology Platform is Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain-enabled recordkeeping and transfer agency infrastructure that supports tokenized investment products across retail and institutional channels. Using this platform, Franklin Templeton launched the world’s first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain technology for transaction processing. In 2024 the firm leveraged the Platform to launch the first fully tokenized UCITS fund in Luxembourg and launched the first retail tokenized fund in Singapore in 2025. In April 2026, Frankin Templeton announced the incorporation of BENJI tokens as payment consideration in the planned acquisition of 250 Digital, marking an important and innovative step toward conducting M&A transactions on chain. In the U.S., BENJI is available to retail investors through the Benji Investments mobile application on iOS and Android. Global institutions can access the platform through the Benji Institutional web portal.
About Frankfurt School’s Centre for Digital Economics
The Centre for Digital Economics is an interdisciplinary research centre at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management focused on the infrastructure of the digital economy and the digital financial system. Its areas of expertise include blockchain, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as the application of these technologies in financial services. C4DE works closely with policy makers, industry experts and start ups, and offers educational formats for students, executives and professionals.