Franklin Templeton, which manages approximately $1.6 trillion in assets, and Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, have launched a new program of great interest to institutional investors. The program allows large-scale investors to trade in cryptocurrency markets without transferring their assets to the exchange.
Under the new structure, tokenized money market fund (MMF) shares issued through Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology Platform can be used as collateral on Binance. However, there's a critical detail: these assets are not directly sent to the exchange. Instead, they remain held in regulated custodians.
The system works as follows: The institutional client uses the tokenized fund shares held in the custodian as collateral. Binance then "reflects" the value of this collateral in its own trading infrastructure. Thus, the investor can carry out buy and sell transactions; however, the underlying assets remain outside the exchange, within a regulated custodial structure.
This model addresses concerns about increased counterparty risk, particularly following past exchange failures and custody crises. One of the biggest question marks for institutions was the risks that holding high-value assets on centralized platforms could create.
The new structure aims to mitigate this risk. While assets remain under regulated custody, investors can still actively trade in crypto markets. Moreover, money market fund shares held as collateral continue to generate returns. Thus, capital efficiency increases compared to balances sitting idle on the exchange.
Custody and settlement processes are handled by Ceffu, Binance's institutional custody partner. Tokenized fund shares are held there; only the collateral value is integrated into the trading environment on the Binance system.
Traditional products are being brought to the blockchain
This step is seen as part of a trend among asset management companies and banks to adapt existing cash and liquidity tools to blockchain infrastructure by tokenizing them, rather than launching entirely "crypto-specific" new products. Franklin Templeton has recently made several updates to make its money market funds compatible with blockchain-based consensus systems. The company also modified two of its institutional funds to develop structures compliant with stablecoin reserve requirements in the US. The Benji platform is also expanding by opening up to different networks. Launched on BNB Chain in September 2025, the platform currently operates on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana, and Stellar networks. This expansion paves the way for the use of tokenized traditional finance products across multiple blockchain ecosystems. Franklin Templeton Head of Digital Assets Roger Bayston stated that the focus of the collaboration with Binance since 2025 has been to develop scalable solutions tailored to institutional needs. According to Bayston, the over-the-counter collateral model offers the possibility of secure trading in crypto markets with assets that continue to generate returns under regulated custody. A more constructive tone is also noticeable on the regulatory front in the US. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda recently stated that unnecessary obstacles should not be created at a time when tokenization is moving from theory to practice.
