Key Insights:
- Binance accepts the BENJI tokenized money market fund from Franklin Templeton as collateral.
- Cathie Wood backs on-chain finance through the LayerZero role.
- SEC chairman highlights faster settlement with tokenized assets
Tokenization is taking a new step as Binance and Franklin Templeton roll out a program that links a tokenized money market fund to one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. The plan allows institutional clients to use fund shares issued on Franklin Templeton’s BENJI platform as collateral on Binance.
Binance and Franklin Templeton Deepen Tokenization Push
Binance and Franklin Templeton have launched an institutional collateral program built around tokenized money market fund shares. The shares are those issued through Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform. The new setup allows users to post these digital shares as collateral on Binance.
The move is the first product launch under the partnership that both companies announced last year. That earlier agreement signaled closer ties between a major crypto exchange and a traditional asset manager. This latest step gives that relationship a working structure.
Institutions widely use money market funds to manage short-term cash. Investors see them as stable and liquid. By placing these shares on a blockchain, Franklin Templeton records ownership in digital form. The value of the fund does not change because of the format, but the way it moves does.
With this program, institutional clients on Binance can hold tokenized fund shares and use them within the exchange. Instead of moving cash back and forth between banks and trading platforms, they can rely on the digital shares as collateral. This may help firms manage capital more easily across different markets.
Notably, the BENJI platform has been Franklin Templeton’s gateway into digital assets. It issues shares that represent ownership in a money market fund, but those shares live on-chain.
Binance, on its part, continues to look for ways to attract institutional players. Bringing a known fund manager into its system supports that aim. Essentially, the arrangement also shows how tokenization is being applied to familiar products rather than experimental ones.
A money market fund is not new. What is new is how the ownership record is handled and how that record can be used inside a crypto exchange.
Cathie Wood Backs On-Chain Finance
LayerZero recently announced a new advisory board as it expands its role in blockchain infrastructure. Among the members is Cathie Wood of ARK Invest. After following the team’s work over the past year, Wood said she saw strong promise in what they are building.
To complement the Binance and Franklin Templeton news, she noted that finance is moving on-chain and said LayerZero could become a key platform in that shift. It is the first time in many years that she has agreed to join an advisory board.
Her comments reflect a wider belief that more financial assets will be issued and transferred through blockchain systems.
If that happens, networks that connect different chains will become more important. LayerZero focuses on linking blockchains so assets and data can move between them. Wood’s support adds weight to the view that tokenization is not limited to a single product.
From funds to deposits, more instruments may be recorded in digital form. The Binance and Franklin Templeton program fits in that direction, as it brings a traditional fund onto an exchange via blockchain rails.
SEC Chairman Points to Faster Settlement Through Tokenization
In a recent post, Paul Atkins has spoken about how digital tokens represent underlying assets.
He explained that a token is a smart contract that represents ownership, much like a paper certificate or an electronic record held by a clearinghouse. The asset itself does not change, but the record-keeping system does.
In traditional markets, there is usually a gap between the day a trade is agreed and the day it is settled. Years ago, that gap was five business days. It has since been reduced to one business day in many markets.
Atkins said tokenization could push that timeline even further, possibly toward same-day settlement for certain instruments. If trades clear and settle on-chain, funds and assets can be transferred almost immediately once both sides agree. This is the bedrock of the Binance and Franklin’s tokenization partnership.
He noted that instruments such as stablecoins, tokenized money market funds, and tokenized bank deposits could operate in this way. Shortening the time between trade and settlement may reduce risk in the system because both parties complete their obligations more quickly.
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Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/02/11/binance-and-franklin-templeton-float-new-benji-tokenized-product/
