Franklin Templeton Sees Tokenized Wallets as Asset Managemen

Franklin Templeton’s head of innovation, Sandy Kaul, predicts a future where all financial assets are managed through tokenized digital wallets. Speaking at the Ondo Summit in New York, Kaul emphasized that the next evolution of asset management will be “wallet-native,” with stocks, bonds, and funds represented in digital wallets. Panelists, including executives from Fidelity, State Street, and WisdomTree, agreed that tokenization is moving beyond theory, with infrastructure now supporting its expansion.

Despite progress, challenges remain in building utility and trust within the ecosystem. Cynthia Lo Bessette of Fidelity highlighted the difficulty in creating a functional ecosystem, while Kim Hochfeld of State Street noted the need for education and experimentation. Will Peck of WisdomTree likened the current tokenization trend to the early days of ETFs, suggesting that tokenized products may soon become a standard in asset management. The panelists envision a future of seamless, global access to hyper-personalized portfolios through blockchain technology.