Binance is proving once more why it is one of the biggest exchanges there is, and yesterday, Feb 11, 2026. Binance positioned itself not just as a high-volume exchange, but as an institutional gateway.
Here's what happened:
Binance teamed up with Franklin Templeton to let institutional clients use tokenized money market fund shares as off-exchange collateral.
This basically means: Big players can now use tokenized shares of a money market fund as trading collateral on Binance…without actually moving those assets onto the exchange.
Yes. You read that right.
They can keep their assets in regulated custody.
Still trade actively on Binance.
And the collateral can potentially earn yield at the same time.
That’s not small.
How is it happening?
This is being delivered using Franklin Templeton’s Benji technology platform (which tokenizes MMF shares) and supported operationally by Ceffu, Binance’s institutional custody layer for off-exchange collateral settlement.
When did it all begin?
While this rollout was announced yesterday, Feb 11, 2026. It is something that was building on the strategic collaboration Binance and Franklin Templeton first announced in September 2025, where both sides signaled they would develop digital asset initiatives combining regulated tokenization capabilities with exchange-grade market infrastructure.
The Real Problem This Solves
Institutional crypto trading has always carried one stubborn friction point:
“To trade fast, I need margin on the exchange, but to sleep well, I want my collateral in regulated custody.”
That tension has been costly. If institutions move large collateral balances onto an exchange, they assume a higher degree of exchange exposure. If they refuse to do so, they often lose speed, flexibility, or liquidity.
What’s Off-Exchange Collateral?
Off-exchange collateral models try to resolve that tension by keeping assets in safer custody arrangements while still letting institutions access exchange liquidity. This Binance–Franklin Templeton structure is an extension of that same logicm but with a new twist: yield-bearing tokenized MMF shares can now play the role of collateral.
So the institutional value proposition becomes:
Risk control: collateral not sitting on the exchange
Capital efficiency: collateral still supports trading activity
Yield potential: collateral is a money market fund exposure, not idle cash
How it works
Let’s break the mechanism into a clean sequence:
Franklin Templeton tokenizes MMF shares via Benji
Benji is Franklin Templeton’s tokenization platform, where tokenized fund shares represent real regulated fund shares. For example, the Benji platform describes the relationship as 1 share = 1 token for its on-chain money fund representation.The tokenized MMF shares remain held off-exchange
Instead of being deposited on the exchange, the assets are held in a regulated custody setup.Binance mirrors the collateral value for trading
Binance reflects the value of those off-exchange holdings inside the trading environment, enabling margin and trading access without requiring the asset to be “parked” on the exchange itself.Ceffu supports custody and settlement operations
The custody and settlement infrastructure is supported via Ceffu, aligning the model with institutional expectations around custody control and operational structure.
That’s the heartbeat of the program: regulated asset + tokenized wrapper + off-exchange custody + on-exchange trading utility.
What’s Being Tokenized Here?
The most recognizable “Benji” product in Franklin Templeton’s ecosystem is its on-chain U.S. government money market fund structure, commonly referenced in the market as the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), represented on-chain via Benji/BENJI tokens (data providers track BENJI as representing shares of FOBXX).
To ground it with numbers (because institutions love numbers):
Franklin Templeton’s fund page shows Total Net Assets of $766.02M as of 12/31/2025 (updated monthly) for FOBXX.
RWA.xyz, which tracks tokenized asset value on-chain, shows BENJI/FOBXX total asset value around $896.7M at the time of writing this.
Those two figures can differ because one is a fund fact sheet view “as-of” a specific month-end update, while the other is a live on-chain analytics snapshot.
The bigger message: Binance is building a “collateral shelf” of regulated RWAs
In the beginning, I said that Binance is positioning itself as an institutional gateway, but the truth is:
Binance has been steadily making regulated, yield-bearing instruments eligible as off-exchange collateral. A major example: Binance previously integrated BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund into its institutional collateral framework, emphasizing the same institutional desire more “stable, interest-bearing” assets that can serve as collateral while still allowing active trading access.
So, step-by-step, Binance is assembling a shelf of collateral options that look increasingly familiar to TradFi risk teams:
tokenized money market funds
tokenized treasury-style exposure
off-exchange custody structures that reduce exchange balance risk
And from Franklin Templeton’s angle, this is exactly what a tokenized fund wants: more utility beyond “it exists on-chain.” Because utility is what converts tokenization from a demo into an operating system.
Why Institutions Care (And Retail Should Too)
Institutions don’t chase hype. They chase structure.
This setup gives them:
Reduced counterparty exposure
Yield-bearing collateral
On-chain transparency
Trading access to deep crypto liquidity
It’s like saying:
“Fine. We’ll play in crypto. But we’re bringing our rulebook.”
And Binance is adapting to that rulebook.
The Bigger Picture: Real-World Assets Are Growing Up
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have been talked about for years.
But here’s the thing: Tokenization is boring unless it does something useful.
Using tokenized money market funds as active trading collateral?
That’s useful.
That’s not a demo.
That’s infrastructure.
This is how blockchain quietly slides into the financial core without drama.
What This Signals for the Market
If this model works smoothly, expect:
More tokenized funds becoming eligible collateral
More exchanges adopting similar structures
More institutions stepping in comfortably
Deeper liquidity tied to regulated instruments
And once institutional capital feels safe?
Liquidity changes.
Volatility structure changes.
Market maturity changes.
Final Thought
This announcement won’t trend on Crypto Twitter.
It won’t pump your bags tomorrow.
It just isn’t the kind of announcement that creates candles on a 5-minute chart.
But it’s the type of development that builds the bridge between Wall Street and Web3, not with noise, but with structure.
And structure is what serious money respects.
Binance is clearly saying:
“We want institutional flow. And we’re willing to meet institutions halfway.”
Franklin Templeton is saying:
“Tokenization isn’t just marketing. It’s utility.”
That alignment? That’s the interesting part.
Crypto is slowly entering its “grown-up” phase.
Less chaos.
More architecture.
Still volatile. But smarter.
And honestly? That’s far more interesting than a temporary pump.
How to Get Started
Because this is an institutional program, firms typically need to
Be approved as an eligible institutional client with Binance
Participate in Binance’s off-exchange collateral setup and
Hold Benji-issued tokenized MMF shares (subject to Franklin Templeton eligibility and jurisdiction rules), with custody and settlement supported through Ceffu’s custody layer.
Then contact your designated account manager or complete this official form from Binance to get started. Contact Form
