think of investing in crypto as investing in technology for the data economy at least thats how franklin templeton sees it crypto is unchartered territory for most but the 76yearold asset manager has dived deep into research in recent years believing digital assets will transform asset management capital markets and the increasingly digital datadriven world at large you dont expect it to end just at just bitcoin and ethereum  and we expect over the next several years several things that continue to unfold and find application roger bayston franklin templetons head of digital assets told cnbc pro at the digital assets council of financial professionals vision conference in austin texas these protocols are developing because theyre trying to address very large total addressable markets where theres application for these public databases that help reduce friction of one database not being the exact copy of another database and needing a reconciliation process bayston said since 2019 the firm has operated node validators on various blockchains – including ethereum solana  cardano and polkadot  this means it participates in verifying transactions on the networks and maintaining their records of transactions its also launched a registered mutual fund the onchain us government money market fund  on the stellar and polygon blockchains as well as two blockchain investment funds separately managed accounts that invest in 10 to 15 of the largest digital assets excluding stablecoins and meme coins and a consumer app that lets users browse tokenized securities and cryptocurrencies investors and money managers have been watching regulatory developments in crypto all year as high profile exchanges like coinbase and token projects like solana and cardano come under severe pressure bayston said investors who have the stomach for high volatility and uncertainty could be rewarded in the future as the regulatory environment in the us becomes clear there will be continued widespread innovation in these software protocol development platforms he said