Franklin Templeton has activated an institutional collateral framework with Binance that lets eligible clients use tokenized money market fund shares as off-exchange trading collateral. The shares are issued through its Benji Technology Platform, and while they support trading activity on Binance, the assets themselves are not moved onto the exchange.
The program is now live and builds on the firms’ 2025 strategic collaboration, which was centered on bringing regulated traditional finance instruments into digital asset market infrastructure. This latest rollout extends that effort by linking institutional capital standards with blockchain-based trading systems in a structure aimed at actual trading operations, not just product experimentation.
Collateral value is recognized on Binance while assets stay in custody
Under the setup, the tokenized fund shares remain secured with Ceffu, Binance’s institutional custody and settlement partner. That means institutions do not need to pre-fund exchange accounts with the underlying assets. Instead, the collateral value is reflected inside Binance’s trading environment, allowing firms to support positions while retaining control of assets in third-party custody.
This addresses a long-running institutional friction point. Pre-funding exchange accounts can complicate treasury management, compliance processes, and internal controls. By keeping assets in a regulated custody structure and mirroring their usable value on-platform, the model is designed to reduce counterparty exposure while fitting more closely with institutional governance requirements.
Yield-bearing funds can back trades without becoming idle capital
A key feature of the framework is that the underlying money market funds continue to generate yield. Institutions can keep earning returns on those holdings while using the same capital base to back trading activity. For professional firms, that changes the economics of collateral deployment. The capital is not simply parked.
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, said the companies’ work since partnering in 2025 has focused on making digital finance function for institutions in practical terms. He said the off-exchange collateral program allows clients to put assets to work in third-party custody while earning yield, which he described as central to what Benji was built to enable at scale.
Built for institutions entering round-the-clock crypto markets
The launch comes as demand rises for stable, yield-bearing collateral that can support continuous settlement cycles. Institutions entering digital asset markets need frameworks that connect with existing treasury operations, risk oversight, and compliance mandates. Tokenized money market funds are being positioned as one workable bridge between traditional financial products and blockchain-based trading venues.
For now, the framework is centered on tokenized MMFs. The source article notes that the structure could also serve as a template for bringing additional real-world assets into institutional crypto trading environments as tokenization expands. In practical terms, the Binance-Franklin Templeton model combines regulated fund structures, independent custody, and exchange liquidity in one operating framework.