Meme coins have 'strong relationship' with native networks like Solana: Franklin Templeton

Though meme coins have no "inherent" value and are highly volatile, Franklin Templeton said, they maintain a "strong relationship" with their native networks.

In a short research note republished on X Wednesday, the global asset management company used the Solana-based meme coin BONK as an example. "We believe that meme coins have a strong relationship with their native networks," Franklin Templeton said in its report. During the fourth quarter of last year, the "Solana network captured a large percent of activity of all the active addresses during the same time that BONK saw a price surge," the report also noted.

In a chart, Franklin Templeton also outlined how activity has evolved across various networks associated with meme coins, citing blockchains like Ethereum ETH +1.32% , Arbitrum ARB +4.11% , Polygon MATIC +9.45% and Optimism OP +0.58% . "In the last year, crypto markets have seen multiple meme coins parabolically surge," the financial giant said.

No 'inherent value'

Franklin Templeton also said that meme coins appealed to some crypto traders because of the low fees and opportunity for quick gains, but cautioned that on their own the tokens are practically worthless. "Meme coins are derived from internet memes and have no inherent value or utility," Franklin Templeton said in its report. 

The asset manager is an issuer of a spot bitcoin ETF, which began trading in January. According to The Block Data Dashboard , the financial instrument has about $185 million under management.