Tokenized Assets Now Usable for Stablecoin Borrowing on Major Exchange
Franklin Templeton has expanded its tokenized money market fund program to Bybit, enabling exchange users to pledge shares as collateral for USDT and USDC trading credit lines while continuing to earn yield on their holdings.
The partnership, announced on September 28, 2026, allows Bybit customers to post Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market shares against borrowing capacity. Underlying assets remain held off-exchange through ByCustody, a regulated custody platform, with token value mirrored in Bybit’s trading environment. Shares are issued via Benji Technology Platform, Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-integrated record keeping and transfer agency infrastructure.
The tokenized money market funds currently represent $686 million in net assets. Shares issued through Benji pay an annualized yield of 3.7% based on the latest seven-day rate.
Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton, framed the integration as a structural shift for institutional participants. “So now I’m able to really look across the top exchanges and be able as an investor to use my collateral more optimally while earning yield on it,” Kaul said. “That to me is a critical unlock to really allow the ecosystem to grow. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for us as an asset manager to be designing products specifically for this wallet-based investing channel.”
Franklin Templeton previously offered similar off-exchange collateral programs through Binance and OKX. The model mirrors approaches taken by other asset managers: Crypto.com and Deribit both allow eligible institutional and professional users to post BlackRock’s BUIDL fund as collateral for trades, including derivatives positions.
The Bybit integration extends Franklin Templeton’s reach across major trading venues without requiring custody transfers. By keeping assets in regulated off-exchange custody while tokenizing claims to them, the structure allows yield-bearing collateral to function in margin and lending workflows across multiple platforms.
