Bybit announced a strategic collaboration with Franklin Templeton, a global investment leader with $1.7 trillion in assets under management, to expand access to tokenized investing. The partnership’s first initiative allows eligible institutional clients to use tokenized money market fund shares as off-exchange collateral when trading on Bybit. These shares are issued through the Benji Technology Platform, Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain-integrated recordkeeping infrastructure.
Investors can pledge Benji-issued fund shares via ByCustody, an institutional-grade custody platform, to access USDT or USDC trading credit lines while keeping underlying assets held off-exchange. This structure mirrors value within Bybit’s trading environment, enabling clients to earn yield on holdings while supporting trading activity. The collaboration also includes plans for a tokenized wealth product on the Mantle chain for wallet-based investors and educational initiatives to help retail users explore traditional investment strategies.
This development signifies a maturing intersection between traditional finance and digital asset markets, specifically targeting capital efficiency for institutional players. By allowing regulated, yield-bearing assets to serve as collateral without moving them onto the exchange, the partnership reduces counterparty exposure and aligns with the risk management standards familiar to traditional finance. It demonstrates how blockchain-integrated solutions can enhance liquidity mechanisms while maintaining compliance boundaries.
From a market structure perspective, this move highlights the growing demand for interoperability between regulated investment products and crypto-native trading venues. The integration of Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform with Bybit’s custody infrastructure suggests a trend toward hybrid models where traditional assets gain utility in digital ecosystems. Stakeholders should watch for further details on the upcoming tokenized wealth products on the Mantle chain, which may indicate broader adoption of RWA-backed instruments among retail wallet users.
