Franklin Templeton and Binance are taking another step toward merging traditional finance with crypto market infrastructure. The firms have launched a live institutional off‑exchange collateral program that allows eligible clients to use tokenized money market fund (MMF) shares—issued via Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform—as collateral for trading on Binance.
For institutional traders, the innovation addresses a long‑standing friction point in digital asset markets: the need to park collateral directly on exchanges, exposing assets to counterparty risk while earning little or no yield.
Now, instead of moving assets onto Binance, institutions can hold tokenized MMF shares in regulated custody. The value of those shares is mirrored within Binance’s trading environment, allowing them to function as off‑exchange collateral.
That design provides three core advantages:
- Reduced counterparty risk, as assets stay in regulated custody
- Yield generation, since money market funds continue earning returns
- Capital efficiency, allowing assets to serve dual purposes
In practical terms, institutions can keep their capital in regulated, yield‑bearing instruments while simultaneously using it to support crypto trading strategies.
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, positioned the initiative as a move toward making digital finance “actually work for institutions,” emphasizing regulated custody and scalable deployment.
“Partnering with Binance to offer tokenized real‑world assets for off‑exchange collateral settlement is a natural next step in our mission to bring digital assets and traditional finance closer together,” said Catherine Chen, Head of VIP & Institutional at Binance. “Innovating ways to use traditional financial instruments on‑chain opens up new opportunities for investors and shows just how blockchain technology can make markets more efficient.”
The custody and settlement layer is supported by Ceffu, Binance’s institutional crypto‑native custody partner. Assets participating in the program remain held off‑exchange in a regulated custody environment, with tokenized money market fund shares pledged as collateral for trading on Binance.
Ian Loh, CEO of Ceffu, said: “Institutions increasingly require trading models that prioritize risk management without sacrificing capital efficiency. This program demonstrates how off‑exchange collateral can support institutional participation in digital markets while maintaining strong custody and control.”
Launching the institutional off‑exchange collateral program expands on both Franklin Templeton’s and Binance’s growing networks of off‑exchange program partners and represents another effort since announcing their strategic collaboration in September 2025.
By using Benji to bridge tokenized money market funds, Franklin Templeton is taking trusted investment products and making them work in modern markets—allowing institutions to trade, manage risk, and move capital more efficiently as digital finance becomes an everyday part of the financial system.
Offering more tokenized real‑world assets on Binance meets the increasing institutional demand for stable, yield‑bearing collateral that can settle 24/7. This gives investors greater choice and enhances their trading experience on the world’s largest regulated digital asset exchange.
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