Key Insights:
- MMF shares can be traded as tokenized collateral in Binance institutions.
- Assets remain under controlled custody, and they are reflected on Binance.
- Ceffu handles settlement and custody, and Binance offers access to trading.
Franklin Templeton and Binance’s off-exchange collateral program is now live, allowing institutional clients to use tokenized shares of money market funds as trading collateral on Binance while the underlying assets remain in regulated custody.
Franklin Templeton Binance Off-Exchange Collateral Program Structure
Within the framework, qualified institutions may pledge tokenized shares of money market funds as security against trading on the exchange.
The shares are issued through Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform and are held off-exchange by Ceffu Custody, a digital asset custodian licensed and supervised in Dubai.
The Franklin Templeton Binance off-exchange collateral program operates through a mirrored collateral model. Although the tokenized funds’ shares are stored at Ceffu, they are recorded on the Binance trading platform. This reflected value allows the institutions to open and keep trading positions without transferring the underlying assets to the exchange.
Rather than transferring funds or cryptocurrency to Binance, a participating institution will enter into a deal to transfer tokenized shares of a fund operated by the custodian.
Moreover, Binance then mirrors the collateral value on its internal system. As a result, institutions can trade while their tokenized money market fund holdings remain outside the exchange.
Source: Binance
Franklin Templeton stated that the structure allows institutions to earn yield on regulated money market fund holdings while simultaneously using those assets to support digital asset trading.
According to the company, the model maintains existing custody and regulatory protections tied to the money market fund structure.
Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, said in a release that the off-exchange collateral program enables clients to put assets to work in regulated custody while earning yield in new ways. The statement focused on the operational design rather than promotional elements.
Ceffu, the institutional custody partner of Binance, handles custody and settlement within the program. Ceffu is a regulatory custodian of the tokenized stocks, a custodian in Dubai that offers access for collateral purposes.
Tokenization Integration and Past Cooperation
The Franklin Templeton Binance off-exchange collateral program is rooted in a 2025 strategic alliance between the two companies.
That earlier collaboration focused on developing tokenization products intended to combine regulated fund structures with global trading infrastructure.
Franklin Templeton had previously integrated its tokenized platform onto the BNB Chain. That integration formed part of earlier steps related to its partnership with Binance. The current collateral program extends that relationship into institutional trading infrastructure.
The tokenized money market fund shares used in the program are issued through the Benji Technology Platform, which Franklin Templeton developed to facilitate tokenized fund structures.
Regulatory Background and Greater Tokenization Movements
In recent years, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has included stablecoins on its list of eligible tokenized collateral. The shift came after increasing demand for tokenized instruments, both for trading and settlements.
Independently, the New York Stock Exchange stated that it was working on a trading and on-chain settlement platform for tokenized securities.
The news suggests that tokenization infrastructure is growing not only on digital asset-focused platforms but also in conventional exchange systems.
Additionally, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accelerated proceedings in December to permit the trading of tokenized securities on Nasdaq. The regulatory step reflects increased activity around tokenized securities listings within established financial market venues.
With these changes, Franklin Templeton Binance’s off-exchange collateral program involves tokenized shares of money market funds in an exchange. Rather, a regulated third-party custodian holds the assets, and the collateral’s value is recorded on the exchange and traded there.
The organization highlights a shift in operations toward tokenized asset-regulated funds and digital markets. However, the program provides a clear structure for institutional involvement through tokenized shares of money market funds, since custody and exchange-based trading exposure are separated.
