Franklin Templeton expands tokenized fund platform Benji to BNB Chain

Global investment giant Franklin Templeton, which boasts $1.6 trillion in assets under management, has expanded its Benji Technology Platform to the BNB Chain ecosystem. Now the company looks forward to broader access to its tokenized products for institutional and retail investors.

Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, said, “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.”

Benji Technology Platform comprises the company’s proprietary blockchain-based technology stack. It is used to issue and manage tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). It also provides the tech behind the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (BENJI). 

According to RWAxyz, it currently has a total on-chain asset value of nearly $732 million, making it the third-largest tokenized US Treasury fund. BENJI currently lives on eight blockchains, including Stellar, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana, with $467 million of its $731.8 million in total assets on Stellar. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) is in the lead and boasts an on-chain value of over $2.1 billion.

Benji’s expansion  to use BNB Chain’s technical strengths 

According to Franklin Templeton, Benji’s expansion to BNB Chain stands out because the chain offers a purpose-built environment for tokenization.

This move builds on Benji’s experience with tokenization at the institutional level by using BNB Chain’s technical strengths, like its scalable, low-cost infrastructure and high transaction throughput, to create a new class of on-chain financial assets.

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

Meanwhile, the total value of real-world assets tokenized on the BNB chain is over $542 million, making it the eighth-largest in the world. The global RWA market has grown fivefold in three years and is estimated to reach $30 trillion by 2030.

In addition, BNB Chain has surged in the past couple of years to become the fifth-largest blockchain by market capitalization, at about $140.65 billion. Its native token, BNB, recently broke over $1,000 for the first time, and is currently trading at $1,010, up 17% over the past month. However, the coin is down almost 1% in the last 24 hours.

RWA sector surpasses the 30 billion threshold

Franklin Templeton’s move reflects a broader trend among major traditional asset managers using public blockchains to scale tokenized financial products. 

Meanwhile, the tokenized RWA sector continues to expand, recently surpassing $30 billion in on-chain value, nearly double the amount recorded in January 2025. According to the latest data from RWA.xyz, the on-chain RWA market has reached $30.42 billion. This is supported by 400,880 individual holders worldwide.

Total RWA value. Source: RWAxyz

The increase represents an 8.85% gain compared to the previous 30 days. It is showing renewed momentum in tokenization activity. However, the number of transfers each month tells a more complicated story. 

The past 30 days saw $63.18 billion in RWA transfers. A decline of more than 20% from the previous month. This suggests that while more investors hold RWAs, overall trading activity has slowed.

Alongside RWAs, the stablecoin market also showed healthy growth. There are now $286.40 billion worth of stablecoins in circulation. That’s more than 6% more than the last month. Holder numbers climbed to over 192 million, affirming that stablecoins remain the backbone of liquidity across decentralized finance. 

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