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One word may be enough to sum up cryptocurrency investing in 2025, according to Roger Bayston of Franklin Templeton.

diversification.

The asset management giant, along with competitors, launched Bitcoin and Ether ETFs last January and July, respectively. The SEC earlier this month approved 19b-4s for cryptocurrency index funds (from Franklin and Hashdex) that will hold both assets — and possibly other coins in the future.

“It looks like the ETF's legal staff will be busy in the first part of the year,” said Lee Bayston, the firm's head of digital assets. “And I think the story of blockchain and its utility — whether it's bitcoin as a store of value or these composable chains — is what will be expanded in 2025.”

We've seen some spot crypto ETF filings that have come into focus Solana and XRP. There is optimism about the possibility of a new administration for the Securities and Exchange Commission More friendly For such plans, although there are no regulated futures markets for those assets, which are determined by the agency He wanted to see For BTC and ETH.

David Mann, head of capital markets and products at Franklin Templeton, said his department is talking with Roger's digital assets team to find out what other assets are interesting (and why). Such conferences help guide the course of the product.

Franklin Templeton's research team continues to evaluate crypto assets just as the firm has done the public equity and credit markets for decades.

“We definitely have opinions,” Bayston said.

While ETFs “essentially take cryptocurrencies and move them back to TradFi,” Bayston said, he noted that part of boosting adoption goes to where clients feel comfortable holding them.

Beyond those vehicles, Franklin Templeton offers the US Government Fund of Funds OnChain (FOBXX). It had approximately $430 million in assets as of November 30. This part appears Ripe for growth.

“Tokenized funds can be an alternative as well as a complement for stablecoin users,” Bayston said.

He pointed to the case of extensive use of stablecoins as collateral in derivatives transactions, for example. FOBXX offers a Fruitful alternative.

Franklin Templeton launched the tokenized fund in 2021. It made peer-to-peer transfers of its shares available in April and made FOBXX available on Layer 2 of Coinbase's blockchain in October.

Focus for 2025?

“Benji was an American-only product,” Bayston told me. “But what you'll see right away as we enter the new year... is an expression of BENJI in a global context.”

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