The global investment firm has expressed its bullish views on the two leading layer-one blockchains in a series of tweets.
Franklin Templeton, one of the largest asset management companies in the world with over $1.4 trillion in assets, has shown its admiration for the Solana blockchain in a recent Twitter thread. The firm highlighted Solana’s vision of a single atomic state machine as a powerful use case of decentralized blockchains, lowering information asymmetry. The firm also praised Solana’s impressive activity in the fourth quarter of 2023, citing examples of projects such as DePIN, meme coins, NFTs, DeFi, and Firedancer.
Solana is a high-performance blockchain that claims to offer scalability, low fees, and fast transactions. It uses a novel consensus mechanism called proof-of-history, which allows validators to agree on the order of transactions without communicating with each other. Solana has attracted a lot of attention and investment in the past year, reaching a market capitalization of over $50 billion.
Franklin Templeton is excited about Ethereum and its ecosystem
The investment giant also expressed its excitement about Ethereum, the largest proof-of-stake blockchain and the home of many decentralized applications. The firm acknowledged the challenges that Ethereum has faced recently, such as high fees, network congestion, and competition from other blockchains, but remained optimistic about its future. The firm pointed out several factors that could boost Ethereum’s momentum, such as:
- EIP 4844, a proposal to improve the security and efficiency of Ethereum’s data availability layer
- Alt DA, a term for alternative data availability solutions that could enhance Ethereum’s scalability and interoperability
- Community revitalization, a phenomenon of increased engagement and innovation among Ethereum developers and users
- Restaking, a feature that allows stakers to compound their rewards by automatically reinvesting them into the network
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the most widely used platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications. It is undergoing a major upgrade to Ethereum 2.0, which aims to transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, improve scalability, and reduce energy consumption. Ethereum 2.0 is expected to be fully launched by the end of 2024.
Franklin Templeton is open to other layer-one blockchains
Franklin Templeton also stated that it believes other layer-one blockchains besides Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have massive potential, and that it is continuing to support, monitor, and develop on these networks as they grow and mature. The firm did not specify which other blockchains it is interested in, but some possible candidates include Cardano, Polkadot, Avalanche, and Binance Smart Chain.
Layer-one blockchains are the base layer of the decentralized web, providing the infrastructure and security for various applications and services. They differ in their design choices, such as consensus mechanisms, programming languages, governance models, and scalability solutions. Layer-one blockchains are often compared and contrasted based on their trade-offs among decentralization, security, and scalability.
Franklin Templeton is a leader in the crypto space
Franklin Templeton’s tweets reflect its growing involvement and enthusiasm in the crypto space. The firm has been one of the pioneers in embracing digital assets, launching several crypto-related funds and products. Last week, Franklin Templeton joined other major firms, such as BlackRock, VanEck, Ark Invest, and Fidelity, in having their spot Bitcoin ETFs approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm also changed its logo to feature red laser eyes, a meme that symbolizes a laser-focused attitude toward driving the price of Bitcoin to higher thresholds.
Franklin Templeton is a global investment firm that offers a wide range of products and services to individuals, institutions, and governments. The firm was founded in 1947 by Rupert H. Johnson Sr. and named after American statesman Benjamin Franklin. The firm is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and has offices in over 30 countries.
