According to Franklin Templeton, head of digital assets, the SEC firm

Financial innovators are playing the long game with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it's only fair, said Roger Baiston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton.

“The SEC, like many regulatory bodies, likes to rely on statutory precedent. […] Those precedents are being set repeatedly by courts of law, so this is just a process that we're working through,” Bayston told Cointelegraph's Turner Wright at the Consensus event.

Despite repeated statements of cynicism about the SEC's “open door” policy, Byston sees the agency's behavior as protecting the economy and not being ignored:

We would not have been in the business for 76 years without some discipline and persistence and cooperative behavior with the international regulators we face – a business of trust.

Things are changing in the SEC, and Bayston is comparing this year to last. We are well engaged with the SEC. […] And we're really happy when they change and change their sound,” he said.

Related: Franklin Templeton goes ‘full degen' with investor note on memecoins

Franklin Templeton launched the Franklin Onchain US Government Fund (“Benji”) in 2023, but it was a five-year journey with them to get there. [the SEC]By helping to enlighten them, blockchain technology teaches them how to use mutual funds.

Crypto adds value to blockchain technology

Beston compared tokenized currencies to stablecoins. The saver gives money to the operator, the operator invests, the money is returned and the profit from the investment is added to the operator.

“Banks and mutual funds have existed side by side for decades. I think this is a similar construct that can move forward,” Bayston said.

Franklin Templeton is very bullish on cryptocurrency, Bayston suggests:

“We believe in the technologies, so we believe [crypto] Tokens, properly structured, represent value for these technologies.

Crypto is as important to investment portfolios as tech stocks were 30 years ago, he said.

Franklin Templeton has filed its application with the SEC for an Ether exchange-traded fund, lagging behind other applicants. The agency originally held off on a decision on the application until June 11, but approved it along with the others on May 23.

Beston was not surprised by this. “They're not trying to give anyone an advantage in this new marketplace,” he said.

Magazine: Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 1: The best currency for AI is crypto.