Overview
- A partnership announced Monday between Franklin Templeton and Bybit lets eligible institutional clients pledge BENJI tokens on Bybit while the underlying Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund shares remain in off‑exchange custody with ByCustody.
- BENJI tokens are minted one‑for‑one with shares of FOBXX so holders continue to earn fund yield, and FOBXX reported $686.64 million in net assets as of Aug. 31 while Franklin’s tokenized offerings have passed $2 billion in assets under management.
- Under the arrangement ByCustody mirrors the off‑exchange asset value into Bybit’s trading environment so the exchange can underwrite USDT or USDC credit lines for qualified clients without moving custody to the exchange.
- Regulatory headway has strengthened the program: the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a no‑action letter in August 2026 allowing registered funds to use tokenized FOBXX and BENJI for cash and collateral management, which eases enforcement risk for the structure.
- Franklin Templeton and Bybit said they plan a Mantle‑based wallet tokenized wealth product but gave no launch date or eligibility rules, a move that could broaden retail and wallet‑based access if operational and regulatory details are finalized.