Franklin Templeton is expanding its Benji tokenization platform to the Canton Network, marking a significant step in the growth of institutional blockchain infrastructure for tokenized investment products. The integration will broaden institutional access to Franklin Templeton's tokenized money market fund.
The Benji platform will now operate on Canton, a blockchain used for institutional settlement and collateral markets. This blockchain integration enables participants to trade and hold Franklin Templeton's Benji token, which represents digital shares of its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund. Launched in 2021 on the Stellar blockchain, the fund has $844.9 million in total asset value.
According to Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at Franklin Templeton, the firm aims for the Benji token to enhance collateral mobility. This will allow a wider range of assets, such as money market funds, to be transferred and reused as collateral almost instantly between institutions on the public blockchain. Kaul explained that Benji's yield is calculated several times a day and paid out daily, potentially making it a more efficient option for holding cash or posting collateral compared to stablecoins.
The move to integrate with Canton Network comes as Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, are increasingly utilizing blockchain technology and digital assets to modernize traditional financial mechanisms.
Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, stated that their bottom line is to meet institutions where they are and where they are headed. The integration allows for new opportunities for Canton's global collateral network, with fresh liquidity being key to bringing traditional finance on-chain. The platform can leverage Franklin Templeton's platform for such traction while ensuring it meets regulatory and privacy requirements that global institutions demand.
The Canton Network is a public blockchain that brings institutional-scale operations to the industry through on-chain privacy. The network's expansion of Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology Platform now supports Canton, bringing regulated financial instruments to users. Canton is also tapping into oracle network Chainlink to bring institutions on-chain amid accelerated adoption of asset tokenization and decentralized finance.
Franklin Templeton's expansion of the Benji Technology Platform to the Canton Network provides market makers and institutions with a new source of liquidity and collateral. This integration unlocks tokenized investments for institutional clients and impacts liquidity, settlement, and the evolution of DeFi in 2025.
