The bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency exchange Binance formalized an alliance with the investment manager Franklin Templeton to allow the use of traditional tokenized financial assets as support in commercial operations.
Starting today, February 11, investors can invest in shares of the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX), a tokenized money market fund that primarily invests in short-term US Treasury bonds. These shares are issued and managed through Benji, the platform developed by Franklin Templeton for the tokenization and management of traditional financial assets.
The integration is executed through Binance custody partner Ceffu, which acts as a bridge between Franklin Templeton’s fund and the exchange. The scheme allows the shares of the FOBXX fund to function as collateral to support trading positions without the need to liquidate them in cash or convert them into stablecoins. At the same time, the assets continue to generate the fund’s own performance and remain in regulated custody, explains a statement from Binance.
As reported by Binance, the program responds to the demand for greater capital efficiency, liquidity and operational protection by large operators. Through this mechanism, clients keep their assets under external protection while their value is reflected in their operational capacity within the platform.
Binance noted that the initiative facilitates the use of regulated money market funds and with performance in digital markets without having to deposit them directly on the exchange.
Risk reduction and supervised custody
One of the central elements of the model is the separation between custody and operations. By not requiring direct deposit of assets into the exchange, the structure reduces the counterparty risk associated with the full transfer of funds.
Ceffu maintains institutional custody, while Binance recognizes the value of the fund’s shares as collateral for operations. This way, investors can support their trading activity without sacrificing regulatory protection or financial performance.
This integration becomes more relevant given FOBXX’s consolidated position in the tokenized asset market. It currently ranks fourth in assets under management within this rapidly growing segment. This scale and recognition reinforces confidence in its use as a regulated quality assurance for trading on Binance.
Digital infrastructure and future projection
Today’s announcement is part of a partnership between Binance and Franklin Templeton that began in 2025, with the goal of developing investment products.
In September 2025, both companies agreed to work on the design of instruments that offer “agile settlement, clear pricing and access to competitive returns for a wide variety of investors.” The strategic goal has been connecting traditional finance with the operational advantages of cryptocurrency networkssuch as greater speed and lower commission costs, as reported by NoticiasVE.
As a result of that collaboration, Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform expanded to the BNB Smart Chain—the network developed by Binance—expanding access to its tokenized products. Furthermore, the Benji platform already operates on other networks such as Stellar, Ethereum and VeChain.
In the future, it is possible that this over-the-counter collateralization model will be extended to other financial instruments. The alliance reflects a trend towards schemes in which regulated custody of traditional assets can be integrated with the operations of digital asset exchanges, expanding the options available to the institutional sector in the cryptocurrency market.