Key Takeaways
- • Franklin Templeton holds approximately $1.5 billion in tokenized fund shares on BNB Chain as of mid-October 2026, about 59.8% of its roughly $2.55 billion in total onchain assets, according to the primary source.
- • The BNB Chain position grew by over 1,200% in a single month in early 2026, and BNB Chain has overtaken Stellar, where the Benji platform's flagship FOBXX fund originally launched in April 2021.
- • Benji platform assets reached between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion by October 2026, with the BENJI token accounting for approximately $760 million of that total.
- • An August 2026 SEC no-action letter permits Franklin Templeton to use BENJI for cash management and collateral purposes, a development the article characterizes as potentially the larger long-term story.
- • Franklin Templeton manages assets of up to $1.83 trillion, so its onchain allocation choices carry weight for the broader tokenization market.
Summary
Franklin Templeton holds approximately $1.5 billion in tokenized fund shares on BNB Chain as of mid-October 2026, representing about 59.8% of the firm's total onchain assets of roughly $2.55 billion, according to Crypto Briefing. The firm's onchain assets are distributed across ten blockchains, but BNB Chain now carries the majority of that exposure. Publisher context references a slightly different figure of 61.7%, measured against a $2.44 billion platform base, reflecting a different denominator for the Benji platform rather than the firm's total onchain holdings.
The engine behind the activity is Benji, Franklin Templeton's proprietary tokenization platform, which handles issuance of tokenized fund shares and records ownership on a public ledger. Total assets on the Benji platform reached between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion by October 2026, with the BENJI token accounting for approximately $760 million. Holdings on BNB Chain surged by over 1,200% in a single month in early 2026.
The flagship product is the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), whose shares are represented by the BENJI token. FOBXX launched on Stellar in April 2021 and became the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for transactions and ownership records. Benji expanded to BNB Chain in September 2025 through a partnership with Binance, and the newer network has since overtaken Stellar as the largest host of the platform's assets.
The SEC issued a no-action letter in August 2026 allowing Franklin Templeton to use BENJI for cash management and collateral purposes. Crypto Briefing argues this could matter more over the long term than the chain concentration itself, since posting a government money fund token as collateral would position it to compete with cash and stablecoins while potentially earning yield. Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, has framed the effort around improving investor access to funds while keeping security and compliance central. Metrics to watch include whether BNB Chain's share rises above 59.8% and whether Benji assets move beyond the current $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion range.
The engine behind the activity is Benji, Franklin Templeton's proprietary tokenization platform, which handles issuance of tokenized fund shares and records ownership on a public ledger. Total assets on the Benji platform reached between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion by October 2026, with the BENJI token accounting for approximately $760 million. Holdings on BNB Chain surged by over 1,200% in a single month in early 2026.
The flagship product is the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), whose shares are represented by the BENJI token. FOBXX launched on Stellar in April 2021 and became the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for transactions and ownership records. Benji expanded to BNB Chain in September 2025 through a partnership with Binance, and the newer network has since overtaken Stellar as the largest host of the platform's assets.
The SEC issued a no-action letter in August 2026 allowing Franklin Templeton to use BENJI for cash management and collateral purposes. Crypto Briefing argues this could matter more over the long term than the chain concentration itself, since posting a government money fund token as collateral would position it to compete with cash and stablecoins while potentially earning yield. Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, has framed the effort around improving investor access to funds while keeping security and compliance central. Metrics to watch include whether BNB Chain's share rises above 59.8% and whether Benji assets move beyond the current $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion range.
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