Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and investment firm Franklin Templeton have launched an over-the-counter collateral program for institutional clients, according to a joint press release.
Participants in the program can use tokenized shares of money market funds (MMF) issued through Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology platform as over-the-counter collateral for trading on Binance. The assets remain in regulated custodial storage and are not transferred to the exchange; instead, their value is reflected in the Binance interface.
This model reduces counterparty risk: institutional traders can continue to earn returns on fund shares while using them to secure trading positions. The custodial and settlement infrastructure is provided by Ceffu, Binance's institutional partner certified to ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC 2 Type II standards.
To participate in the program, clients can contact a personal manager or fill out a form on the institutional services page of Binance.
“Since the start of our collaboration in 2025, we have been working to make digital finance genuinely beneficial for institutional clients. The collateral program allows them to utilize assets held by a regulated custodian while earning returns in new ways. This is what the Benji platform was created for, and our partnership with Binance helps scale this solution,” said Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton.
The program addresses a challenge faced by institutional participants entering the crypto market: the need to lock up capital on exchanges to secure trades. Instead, traders can leverage income-generating, regulated instruments—tokenized MMF shares—without sacrificing liquidity and control over their assets.
“Our partnership with Franklin Templeton to use tokenized real-world assets as over-the-counter collateral is the next step in our mission to bridge digital assets and TradFi. The ability to utilize traditional on-chain instruments opens new opportunities for investors and demonstrates how blockchain enhances market efficiency,” noted Catherine Chen, head of VIP and institutional at Binance.
The launch of the program continues the strategic collaboration that the exchange and Franklin Templeton announced in September 2025. Franklin Templeton manages assets totaling over $1.7 trillion and has been developing its digital assets division since 2018.
Previously, Binance published its 2025 report, detailing its institutional collateral programs.