Asset management company Franklin Templeton, which last week joined the likes of BlackRock and Ark Invest in having its spot bitcoin ETFs approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been accused of ‘shitcoining’ and ‘destroying their credibility’ after it handed control of its X account to its crypto research team.
The firm, one of the top 20 largest asset managers in the US, announced on Wednesday that two members from its Digital Assets Research Team would be taking over its X (formerly Twitter) feed.
However, within an hour of handing over control of the feed, the Franklin Templeton timeline was awash with controversial crypto takes. Among the more noteworthy posts were those which read, “In crypto, speculation is a feature, not a bug,” and one that noted that the firm is “excited about ETH and its ecosystem. Despite the midlife crisis it’s recently experienced.”
During the takeover, the team also seemingly promoted Solana, saying “We see Anatoly’s vision of a single atomic state machine as a powerful use case of decentralized blockchains, lowering information asymmetry.”
pic.twitter.com/mswW8ILrc3
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) January 17, 2024
Responses from fellow X users were mixed. “I’ve never seen a major financial institution destroy their credibility so fast…. holy yikes,” said one while another claimed, “Franklin Templeton really went full shitcoin bag shilling. It’s hilarious to watch 😂.”
Bitcoin maxis on the other hand relished Templeton’s praise of Ordinals and crypto’s potential, claiming that the firm is “IS BULLISH ON #BITCOIN.”
Others questioned the wisdom of handing over the X account reins, with one joking, “How much adderall did Franklin Templeton intern just take my god.” Another speculated that the intern may be going to jail, saying, “but someone has to take the fall for our bags.”
As the X takeover drew to a close, the account shared that it would’ve liked to have interacted with individual comments, but noted that its lawyers wouldn’t allow it.
