Mike Reed: $1.6 Trillion Franklin Templeton Is Bridging TradFi & DeFi on Solana!

We sit down with Mike Reed from Franklin Templeton (a $1.6 trillion asset manager) live at Solana Breakpoint in Abu Dhabi to discuss their deep involvement in the Solana ecosystem. Mike reveals why they go beyond just issuing ETFs and actually run their own validators, how they are aiming to make crypto investing "easy for non-crypto ninjas" (like his octogenarian father), and why he personally uses a Solana Seeker phone and wears a CUDIS ring. We also dive into the future of Solana ETFs, the "crypto native" features of their on-chain money fund (Benji), and his bullish outlook on DePIN projects like Helium. Timestamps: 00:00 - TradFi vs. DeFi 05:45 - The "Benji" Fund 09:30 - Making Crypto "Easy" 12:45 - Institutions View on Solana 15:15 - Mike's DePIN Obsession