Franklin Resources & Binance Unveil New Institutional Collateral Plan

Franklin Resources, Inc.BEN and Binance announced the launch of a new off-exchange institutional collateral program, aiming to make digital asset trading safer and more capital-efficient. The launch is based on the strategic partnership between Franklin Resources and Binance announced in September 2025.

The current program enables eligible institutional clients to use tokenized money market fund shares issued through Benji Technology Platform of Franklin as collateral when trading on Binance.

The collaboration’s custody and settlement infrastructure is supported by Ceffu, the institutional crypto-native custody partner of Binance.

Rationale Behind the Franklin-Binance Collaboration

This initiative between BEN and Binance addresses a key challenge faced by institutional crypto traders. Traditionally, using assets as collateral on a crypto exchange required transferring them onto the platform, increasing custody and counterparty risks. 

Under this plan, the value of the tokenized money market fund shares is mirrored within Binance’s trading system, while the actual assets remain securely held off-exchange in a regulated environment. This setup allows institutions to continue earning yield on their money market fund holdings while using them to back digital asset trades.

Roger Bayston, head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, said, “Our off-exchange collateral program is just that: letting clients easily put their assets to work in regulated custody while safely earning yield in new ways. That’s the future Benji was designed for, and working with partners like Binance allows us to deliver it at scale.”
Catherine Chen, head of VIP & Institutional at Binance, said, “Innovating ways to use traditional financial instruments on-chain opens up new opportunities for investors and shows just how blockchain technology can make markets more efficient.”

How Does This Launch Benefit Franklin & Binance

The collaboration strengthens Franklin and its Benji platform by expanding the use of tokenized money market funds in the digital market. By placing regulated yield-bearing products on blockchain infrastructure, the company is bridging the gap between traditional finance and digital markets. It improves the company’s position as an innovator, draws institutional clients seeking a secure solution, and supports the growth of its digital asset strategy.

The launch benefits Binance’s institutional platform by supporting safer and more capital-efficient trading. Enabling tokenized, yield-bearing money market funds as off-exchange collateral reduces counterparty risk and attracts traditional financial institutions. It also meets rising demand for stable, yield-generating collateral with 24/7 settlement. This strengthens Binance’s institutional credibility and long-term growth prospects.

Shares of BEN have soared 23.6% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 1.4%.
  

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At present, Franklin Resources carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Strategic Collaborations by Other Finance Firms

In January, Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM), an investment management division of Northern Trust CorporationNTRS, announced a partnership with Envestnet to offer its institutional-quality, tax-managed direct indexing solution through the platform. The collaboration enables the delivery of highly customized equity portfolios to ultra-high-net-worth clients.
 
Through the Envestnet platform, financial advisors will be able to access NTAM’s direct indexing solution, which provides a diversified range of equity investment strategies. The offering supports blending indices, applying quantitative factor tilts, and includes client-specific exclusions to align portfolios with individual preferences and values. The growing adoption of direct indexing and customized model portfolios is driving NTRS’s expansion.

In December 2025, Invesco Ltd.IVZ partnered with LGT Capital Partners, a leading privately held global specialist in alternative investing, to boost private markets access for U.S. wealth and retirement investors.

Together, Invesco and LGT Capital intend to create a multi-alternative private markets offering, starting with a focus on the U.S. wealth and retirement segments. By leveraging their combined strengths, the partnership aims to make private markets more accessible through robust portfolio solutions and better investor education.

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Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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