Franklin Templeton Becomes Largest Asset Manager to Join Canton Network as Super Validator

With $1.79tn in assets under management, Franklin Templeton is the largest asset manager by AUM to take a Super Validator role, signalling how major institutions are shifting from participants to operators on the network, Canton confirmed to Sandmark.

56 Super Validators, and they aren't appointed

The Canton Network is a public, permissionless blockchain for institutional finance built around privacy, compliance and scalability. Its highest governance tier now includes 56 Super Validators, including Franklin Templeton.

Super Validator status is not granted by invitation. Franklin Templeton joined the role through a public governance proposal that required approval from a supermajority of existing Super Validators, Canton Network said. "A regulated asset manager does not undertake that level of public governance, legal and compliance review simply to conduct a pilot. This is a long-term commitment to the network and its development."

The addition also changes the composition of that group, not just its size. "Much of Canton's Super Validator community has been built around market infrastructure, custody, data and security providers, all of whom are closely connected to the underlying infrastructure of financial markets," Canton Network said.

Franklin Templeton's participation brings the perspective of a fiduciary asset manager directly into decisions concerning protocol upgrades, network economics and operating standards. "[Franklin Templeton] is not simply using the network or bringing products onto it; it is helping operate and govern the infrastructure on which those products can settle."

How the Super Validator model is built to hold up

Canton's governance is supported by the size and variety of its Super Validator group rather than any single participant. The group is intentionally composed of independently owned and administered institutions, each of which must meet the operating requirements established through the network's governance process. "Super Validators collectively operate the Global Synchronizer and validate Canton Coin transactions, with significant network actions requiring agreement from a supermajority of operators," said Viv Diwakar, head of the Canton Foundation.

Other Super Validators include Visa, Circle, Nasdaq, BitGo and CoinMetrics. Each vetted institution holds equal voting power on governance, including decisions on code, services and contributions to its infrastructure.

Franklin Templeton said the move reflects its commitment to "advancing secure, compliant, and scalable digital asset markets, and establishes a roadmap for continued engagement on Canton in the coming years."

"We're not only bringing products to Canton, we're helping steward the network they depend on and helping shape how it develops," a Franklin Templeton spokesperson told Sandmark. "We see this as foundational to how institutional capital will move in the years ahead."

Building on a year of Benji groundwork

Franklin Templeton expanded its Benji Technology Platform, a blockchain-integrated stack aimed at easing the administration of tokenized investments, onto the Canton Network in November 2025.

That platform is already adding to what the network can do, according to Canton Network: "Each new institutional-grade instrument brought onto the network expands what institutions can do across collateral mobility, financing and settlement."

Becoming a Super Validator expands the asset manager's role on the network by giving it a say in its future development. "Their expanded role will help strengthen the resilience, governance, and utility of the network as Canton continues to support real-world adoption of tokenized assets and collateral mobility at institutional scale," said Diwakar.