Binance Deepens Partnership with Franklin Templeton: Tokenized Currency Market Funds Can Be Used as OTC Collateral, Institutional-Grade Program Launches

Global investment management giant Franklin Templeton and Binance jointly announced the launch of an institutional-grade over-the-counter collateral program. eligible institutional clients can now use tokenized money market fund shares issued via the Benji technology platform as OTC collateral for trading on Binance.
(Background: Conversation with Binance founder CZ “Rise, Fall, and Rebirth”: I am just an ordinary person, success comes from persistence and luck)
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According to the official press release, the program effectively addresses the core pain points faced by institutional traders for a long time. In the past, institutions wanting to trade on crypto exchanges often had to keep large amounts of funds idle in cash or stablecoins on the platform, sacrificing potential earnings.

Now, institutional clients can allocate funds into regulated traditional money market funds to generate ongoing returns, while tokenized shares of these funds are mapped as OTC collateral in the Binance trading environment, enabling “earnings while trading.”

Benji Platform + Ceffu Custody

The program has two main components:

• Franklin Templeton Benji Technology Platform: responsible for issuing tokenized money market fund shares, integrating digital asset transfer agents, management systems, and digital wallet infrastructure.
• Ceffu Custody Service: as Binance’s institutional custody partner, Ceffu Custody FZE obtained a virtual asset custody license in Dubai, responsible for OTC settlement infrastructure and secure safekeeping of tokenized assets.

The value of fund shares issued by Benji will be reflected instantly in Binance’s trading environment, but the tokenized assets themselves always remain in OTC regulated custody, not entering the exchange’s fund pool.

Statements from Senior Executives

Catherine Chen, Binance VIP and Institutional Business Lead, said:

Partnering with Franklin Templeton to use tokenized real-world assets for OTC collateral settlement is an important step in advancing the integration of digital assets and traditional finance. Exploring on-chain applications of traditional financial instruments not only brings new opportunities for investors but also demonstrates the huge potential of blockchain technology to improve market efficiency.

This collaboration is the latest development since the strategic partnership was announced in September 2025, and marks a milestone for RWA (Real World Asset) tokenization in institutional applications. As traditional financial giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton continue to expand into blockchain, tokenized money market funds are gradually becoming a “bridge asset” for institutions entering the crypto market.