Franklin Templeton Expands Tokenization Frontiers With Benji Platform Integration Onto BNB Chain

Franklin Templeton, the global investment powerhouse managing $1.6 trillion in assets, is expanding its proprietary Benji Technology Platform to the BNB Chain ecosystem.

The move amplifies Benji's institutional-grade tokenization expertise by leveraging BNB Chain's technological strengths, including its scalable, low-cost infrastructure and high transaction throughput, to create a new class of on-chain financial assets.

"Our goal is to meet more investors where they’re active, while continuing to push the boundaries of what tokenization can deliver with security and compliance at the forefront,” Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, said in a press release shared with CoinDesk.

“Together, Franklin Templeton and BNB Chain will work to deliver tokenized assets with greater utility, and enhanced features for retail and institutional clients across the globe,” Bayston said.

Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology Platform is an integrated stack designed to facilitate 24/7 trading and management of tokenized assets and yield distribution, as demonstrated by the firm's OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund BENJI token. Over the years, the platform has expanded across multiple blockchains, including Stellar, Ethereum, and VeChain.

According to Sarah Song, Head of Business Development at BNB Chain, Benji's expansion to BNB Chain stands out because the chain offers a purpose-built environment for tokenization.

"BNB Chain has a purpose-built environment that issuers can’t find elsewhere: fast settlement, low fees, and compliant data tooling in one ecosystem,” said Sarah Song, head of business development at BNB Chain.

"For an institution like Franklin Templeton, it’s not only about the technology, it’s about partnering with a chain that already demonstrates real liquidity and adoption at scale," Song explained.

As of the time of writing, the total value of real-world assets tokenized on theBNB chain was over $542 million, making it the eighth-largest in the world, according to BNB's Dune-based tracker. The global RWA market has grown fivefold in three years and is estimated to reach $30 trillion by 2030.

"Institutional adoption of tokenization is moving from pilot projects to scaled deployment. The early question was whether regulated assets could exist on-chain; today, the focus is on which networks can support them at institutional standards. Franklin Templeton’s expansion to BNB Chain reinforces that tokenization is no longer a theory but an operating reality - and BNB Chain is one of the networks carrying it forward," Song told CoinDesk.