Franklin Templeton Expands Tokenized Fund Platform Benji to BNB Chain - Major Institutional Move

Wall Street meets Web3 as Franklin Templeton drops traditional finance's slow-motion approach.

Tokenization Tsunami Hits BNB Chain

Franklin Templeton just catapulted its Benji platform onto BNB Chain—bypassing legacy financial plumbing entirely. The move signals institutional adoption isn't coming—it's already here, rewriting asset management rules in real-time.

Why This Expansion Changes Everything

Traditional funds operate at dinosaur speed while Benji's BNB Chain integration delivers instant settlements. No more waiting for T+2 settlements that feel like financial archaeology. The platform now taps into one of crypto's most active ecosystems—where transactions finalize in seconds, not days.

Institutional-Grade Meets DeFi Native

This isn't some experimental side project. Franklin Templeton manages trillions—they don't play around with blockchain tourism. By choosing BNB Chain, they're betting on scalable infrastructure that actually works for mass adoption. Meanwhile, traditional finance still thinks 'blockchain' is a buzzword for PowerPoint presentations.

The Cynical Take

Watch legacy institutions scramble to explain how their 'innovative blockchain initiatives'—still stuck in pilot phase—compare to actual production deployments. They'll probably form another committee to study the study about potentially considering tokenization someday.

Bottom line: When asset managers controlling generational wealth start deploying on-chain, the old guard's resistance becomes financial malpractice.

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.

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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