Franklin Templeton and Binance launch off-exchange collateral program

For institutional traders, the hardest part of crypto trading is often not market access but collateral management. In many setups, firms must pre-fund an exchange account to trade, which increases counterparty exposure and creates additional compliance hurdles. Another friction point is that “high-quality” collateral familiar to traditional markets does not always fit neatly with a 24/7 crypto venue.

Binance said the new program is meant to address that gap using tokenization and a custody structure. Under the arrangement, eligible institutional clients can use tokenized shares of a money market fund, issued through Benji, as collateral for trading on Binance. The collateral itself remains off-exchange in a regulated custody setup. Its value is reflected within Binance’s trading system through Ceffu’s custody and settlement layer. 

The companies highlighted two intended outcomes: improved capital efficiency and reduced counterparty risk. The release said the structure is designed to let institutions keep assets productive, earn money market yield, and support trading positions without moving the underlying collateral onto the exchange.

Roger Bayston, head of Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, said the aim is to make tokenized finance workable for institutional users, and that the off-exchange collateral program is intended to let clients keep assets in a regulated custody framework while still earning yield. Binance’s Catherine Chen described the rollout as consistent with the company’s efforts to connect traditional instruments with crypto market plumbing.

The program builds on a collaboration the firms announced in September 2025, when they said they would work together on digital-asset and tokenization initiatives. 

The release also noted that custody services for Benji-issued tokens in this program are provided by Ceffu Custody FZE, a Dubai-licensed and supervised virtual asset custodian. Binance did not disclose which products are eligible or the full set of participation criteria, but said the program is live and aimed at institutions that prioritize tighter risk controls and a custody model closer to what they use in traditional markets.