Bitcoin Outpaced Gold for Three Weeks Straight, While Another Wall Street Firm Is Tokenizing Its Products

Geopolitical tensions are always a stress test for Bitcoin. This time around, BTC has outperformed gold for a period since the start of the Iran conflict, and Bitcoin ETFs are seeing more inflows. What’s more, Franklin Templeton has become the latest Wall Street company to dip its toes into the world of tokenization. 

TL;DR

• Franklin Templeton is the latest Wall Street firm to dive into tokenized assets, bringing 24/7 trading of tokenized ETFs. 

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs are asserting dominance over Gold ETFs, highlighting Bitcoin's resilience amid persistent tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Franklin Templeton Is Partnering With Ondo Finance to Bring 24/7 Tokenized ETF Trading 🚀

We are seeing it more and more that Wall Street firms are using tokenization to their advantage. This week, the latest company to follow this framework is Franklin Templeton. 

The asset manager announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to bring 24/7 tokenized ETF trading to its clients. 

Through Ondo Global Markets, the partnership will facilitate the issuance of tokens representing real-world assets such as ETFs and stocks. Simultaneously, Franklin Templeton is set to provide the necessary products and educational resources tailored for the crypto-native community.

Franklin Templeton manages around $1.7 trillion in assets and began the partnership by tokenizing five ETFs across the growth, large-cap, fixed-income, equity-income, and gold markets. 

These funds are: 

• Franklin Focused Growth ETF (FFOG): Actively managed U.S. equity exposure focused on innovative and growth-oriented companies.

• Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF (FLQL): Systematic large-cap U.S. equity exposure using a multifactor approach.

• Franklin Responsibly Sourced Gold ETF (FGDL): Exposure to gold bullion sourced through responsible supply chains.

• Franklin High Yield Corporate ETF (FLHY): Exposure to U.S. high yield corporate bonds.

• Franklin Income Equity Focus ETF (INCE): An equity strategy focused on income-oriented securities.

Just last week, I wrote about the upcoming launch of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF and how major banks and institutions on Wall Street aren’t treating digital assets as an afterthought anymore.

I think this is just the beginning.

When I started out in the digital assets market, it was a no-brainer for me that financial institutions would one day use tokenization to their advantage. 

Now that this reality is slowly becoming a reality, we can follow in real time which companies are jumping on the bandwagon quickly and adapting to the most influential technology in modern finance, and which are taking a bit longer to do so.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Recorded Inflows While Gold ETFs Saw Outflows Since the Start of the Iran Conflict 👀

Uncertainty is never a good thing for any market. Whether that be equities, bonds, or digital assets. 

Gold, however, maintains a reputation for resilience during market stress. Historically serving as the foundation for the U.S. Dollar, it remains a staple in central bank reserves to this day.

Consequently, investors frequently turn to gold as a primary safe haven during periods of instability. This strategy proved effective last year when gold hit a new all-time high.

However, looking at new data from River, things looked a little different in March.

While the price of bitcoin has dropped on negative news surrounding the Iran conflict, it held up quite well compared to stocks and gold (at least during the time period in the dataset provided by River).  

This was also highlighted this week in the inflow and outflow data for Bitcoin and Gold ETFs. 

Over a three-week period, spot Bitcoin ETFs reportedly saw net inflows of over $2 billion, while gold ETFs recorded net outflows of over $9 billion. 

Bitcoin seems to be the preferred choice for many since the breakout of the tensions between the U.S. and Iran at the beginning of the month. 

Whether this stays or if investors will switch back to gold remains to be seen. Looking at Bitcoin’s price drop today, who knows.

Elsewhere in Bitcoin 📖

A quick look at what else has been happening in Bitcoin: 

• Cash is such a bad savings tool! 

• How we deploy capital at Samara Asset Group

• Morgan Stanley has a date for its spot Bitcoin ETF

• Tether will use a Big Four company for its next audit

• My take on why inflation is bad and how Bitcoin can solve this! 

Your fellow stacker in sats, 

Patrick Lowry

PS: Check out the Samara Bitcoin CPI to see how the value of goods and services changes when priced in Bitcoin.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any associated company. This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, financial, or any other professional advice. Nothing here is a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to buy or sell any asset or to use any service. Investing in cryptocurrencies is highly speculative and carries a significant risk of substantial financial loss, so you must conduct your own thorough research and consult with independent professional advisors before making any decisions.