Franklin Templeton, a global leader in investments, and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and users, unveiled a new institutional off-exchange collateral scheme today. This will make digital markets safer and more efficient with capital. Now that it’s live, clients who meet the requirements can use tokenised money market fund shares from Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform as off-exchange collateral when trading on Binance.
The initiative solves a long-standing problem for institutional traders by letting them use traditional, regulated, yield-bearing assets from money market funds in digital markets without having to put them on an exchange. Instead, Binance’s trading environment reflects the value of Benji-issued fund shares, while regulated custody safeguards tokenised assets off-exchange. This lowers counterparty risk, allowing institutional investors to earn interest and fund their trading without having to worry about custody, liquidity, or regulatory protections.
Tokenised money market funds introduced as trading collateral
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, said, “Since we started working together in 2025, our main goal has been to make digital finance work for businesses.” “Our off-exchange collateral program is exactly that: it lets clients easily put their assets to work in regulated custody while safely earning yield in new ways.” Working with partners like Binance lets us deliver that future on a large scale.
Catherine Chen, Head of VIP & Institutional at Binance, said, “Partnering with Franklin Templeton to offer tokenised real-world assets for off-exchange collateral settlements is a natural next step in our mission to bring digital assets and traditional finance closer together.” “Finding new ways to use traditional financial tools on-chain creates new opportunities for investors and shows how blockchain technology can make markets work better.”
Assets that are part of the program stay off-exchange in a controlled custody environment. Tokenised money market fund shares are used as collateral for trading on Binance. Ceffu, Binance’s institutional crypto-native custody partner, helps with custody and settlement infrastructure.
Ian Loh, CEO of Ceffu, said, “Institutions are increasingly looking for trading models that put risk management first without sacrificing capital efficiency.” This program shows how off-exchange collateral can help institutions take part in digital markets while still keeping strong custody and control.
Expansion of strategic partnership and tokenised asset access
The launch of the institutional off-exchange collateral program is another step in the right direction since Franklin Templeton and Binance announced their strategic partnership in September 2025. It also adds to the growing networks of off-exchange program partners for both companies.
Franklin Templeton is using Benji to connect tokenised money to marketable funds. This makes trusted investment products work in today’s markets, which means that institutions can trade, manage risk, and move capital more quickly as digital finance becomes a normal part of the financial system.
Offering more tokenised real-world assets on Binance addresses the growing demand from institutions for stable, yield-bearing collateral that can be settled at any time of the day or night. This gives investors more options and makes trading on the world’s largest regulated digital asset exchange better.
Franklin Templeton has been a leader in digital asset investing and blockchain innovation since 2018, using tokenomics research, data science, and technical know-how to create cutting-edge solutions. Franklin Templeton Digital Assets has more information.