Franklin Templeton and Animoca Brands are working together to bring more tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to NUVA, a marketplace that gives users access to investments through blockchain-based vaults. The companies announced the deal on October 9, 2026, and say they want to make it easier for institutions to access these assets.
Franklin Templeton manages investments for clients around the world, while Animoca Brands builds and invests in digital asset businesses. Their partnership connects traditional investment experience with Animoca’s blockchain network. NUVA launched in May 2026 and first offered vaults linked to Provenance Blockchain, which held more than $30 billion in total value locked as of September 24.
In its X announcement, Franklin Templeton said the partnership will expand NUVA beyond its existing assets. The firms also plan to study how cultural assets could be tokenized, though they have not yet named the first new products or given a launch date.
Bringing the real world onchain with @animocabrands.
Animoca Brands and Franklin Templeton Collaborate to Expand Institutional Access to Tokenized Investments
Strategic program aims to accelerate institutional adoption of tokenized real-world assets, and explores the co-design of tokenized cultural assets.
SAN MATEO / HONG KONG, October 9, 2026 — Franklin Templeton, a global investment manager and leader in digital asset innovation, and Animoca Brands, a global digital assets and AI company, today announced a strategic collaboration to bring tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to @NUVAFinance, the Animoca Brands-backed vault marketplace.
The collaboration extends NUVA’s reach beyond its existing Provenance blockchain-based assets, unlocking access to institutional-grade assets from a broader base of asset issuers. Co-incubated by Animoca Brands and @NUVALabs, NUVA launched in May 2026 with vaults that unlock access to assets on the Provenance Blockchain, which holds over US$30 billion in total value locked as of 24 September 2026.
“The convergence of traditional finance and digital assets has gone from the theoretical to being a real infrastructure play. Franklin Templeton is a pioneer in tokenizing traditional financial assets, and this partnership allows us to integrate institutional-grade RWAs directly into NUVA’s vault architecture.” said Yat Siu @ysiu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands. “By combining battle-tested asset management with decentralized distribution, Nuva is expanding how institutional investors access RWAs.”
The two firms have also launched a four-part, co-authored research series, which builds on Franklin Templeton’s decade-long commitment to expanding the utility of blockchain-enabled investment solutions within institutional workflows. The thought leadership series, now live at https://t.co/FnhpQGLWJ1 examines the strategic significance of tokenization for institutional investors, the developments that have brought the market to this point, and how tokenization is changing the way institutions evaluate assets and construct portfolios.
“Tokenization is moving beyond simply putting traditional assets on blockchain rails. The next phase is about expanding how those assets can be accessed, utilized and integrated into increasingly digital investment ecosystems,” said Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton. “Our collaboration with Animoca Brands and NUVA reflects that evolution, combining Franklin Templeton’s investment expertise and experience building blockchain-enabled solutions with new channels for delivering those capabilities to investors.”
Franklin Templeton and Animoca Brands expect to build on these initiatives by exploring additional areas of collaboration, including opportunities for the co-design and tokenization of real-world cultural assets, with additional details expected later this year.
###
About Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton is a trusted investment partner, delivering tailored solutions that align with clients’ strategic goals. With deep portfolio management expertise across public and private markets, we combine investment excellence with cutting-edge technology. Since our founding in 1947, we have empowered clients through strategic partnership, forward-looking insights, and continuous innovation – providing the tools and resources to navigate change and capture opportunity. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and $1.83 trillion in assets under management as of 31 August 2026. To learn more, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn.Franklin Templeton, Inc. [NYSE: BEN]
About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands Corporation Limited (ACN: 122 921 813) is a global digital assets leader building and investing in impactful technologies and ecosystems to reimagine future economies through AI and the agentic web. It has received broad industry and market recognition including Fortune Crypto 40, Top 50 Blockchain Game Companies 2025, Financial Times’ High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific, and Deloitte Tech Fast. Animoca Brands is recognized for building digital asset platforms such as the Moca Network, Open Campus, Anichess, and The Sandbox, as well as institutional-grade platforms; providing digital asset services to help Web3 companies launch and grow; and investing in frontier Web3 technology, with a portfolio of over 600 companies and digital assets. For more information visit https://t.co/fBY5gjM0oo or follow on X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.About Nuva Labs
Nuva Labs (formerly Provenance Blockchain Labs) powers digital asset issuers with a full lifecycle of blockchain infrastructure that enables the tokenization, management, and distributions of real-world assets at scale. From structuring advice and mission-critical APIs and SaaS services, to supporting broad, multi-chain Web3 distribution through vault marketplaces such as NUVA. Nuva Labs is the leading developer and integration partner on Provenance Blockchain, a leading public Layer 1 blockchain network with over $30 billion in real-world assets total value locked (TVL). Learn more at: https://t.co/cNvAuQ4E61, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.* * *
@anthonymoro111 x @bchan8938 X @animocaresearch x @JIQQYJONES x @AnimocaVentures x @Animocabrandskk
— Franklin Templeton Digital Assets (@FTDA_US) October 8, 2026
Attention is moving from creating tokens to making them useful
Tokenization means creating a digital token that represents an asset, such as a fund, bond or piece of property. But creating a token does not automatically make an investment easy to buy, sell or use. The real test is whether people can access it, understand its risks and trade it when they need to.
Franklin Templeton’s Sandy Kaul, who leads digital assets and innovation at the firm, said the next stage is about making tokenized assets easier to use within digital investment systems. The companies have also released a four-part research series on tokenization to explain how blockchain could change the way institutions manage investments.
The announcement drew support from crypto users. One X user @Kornik said the deal shows that large financial firms are treating tokenization as part of future financial infrastructure, rather than just an experiment. Another user, MosesBIG9, also welcomed the move, suggesting that investment portfolios could increasingly move on-chain.
Franklin Templeton i @animocabrands nawiązują strategiczną współpracę, której celem jest zwiększenie instytucjonalnego dostępu do tokenizowanych RWA.
Tokenizowane aktywa @FTDA_US mają trafić do @NUVAFinance platformy vaultów wspieranej przez Animoca Brands, która do tej pory opierała się głównie na aktywach z Provenance Blockchain – sieci mającej ponad $30 mld TVL.
Najciekawsze jest to, jak Franklin opisuje kolejny etap rynku: tokenizacja nie ma już polegać tylko na przenoszeniu tradycyjnych aktywów na blockchain, ale na tym, żeby były one łatwiej dostępne, wykorzystywane i integrowane z cyfrowymi strategiami inwestycyjnymi oraz całym ekosystemem on-chain.
Dodatkowo obie firmy chcą rozwijać kolejne obszary, w tym tokenizację tzw. cultural assets.
Kolejny sygnał, że duże instytucje finansowe zaczynają traktować tokenizację jako realną warstwę przyszłej infrastruktury finansowej, a nie eksperyment.
— Kornik (@kornik_crypto) October 8, 2026
Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu shared his excitement in his own post, saying the industry was only getting started. His view explains the opportunity, but the partnership still needs to show investors what they can actually access and how the products will work.
READ ALSO: RWA Tokenization Is a $40 Billion Global Market, Here’s What’s Happening in Africa
Access and liquidity will decide whether the deal succeeds
NUVA’s expansion fits a growing trend. Financial firms are testing blockchain-based funds and other investments because the technology can make records easier to track and transactions faster to settle. DeFi Planet explained this in its report on the growth of tokenized assets beyond stocks and government bonds.
Still, tokenization does not remove the risks tied to the assets themselves. A token linked to a loan can still lose value if the borrower fails to repay. A token linked to property may still be hard to sell if there are few buyers. DeFi Planet’s analysis of whether RWA tokenization is delivering on its promise found that access and liquidity remain major challenges across the market.
The proposed cultural-asset work could take the partnership into areas such as art, brands or other items with cultural value. But the firms have not yet explained which assets they will choose or how ownership and pricing would work.
Enjoyed this? Bookmark DeFi Planet, explore related topics, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and CoinMarketCap Community for seamless access to high-quality industry insights.
Take control of your crypto portfolio with DEFI PLANET PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.
