Bybit is expanding the role of tokenized money-market funds beyond investment holdings. Under a new partnership with Franklin Templeton, eligible institutional clients will be able to pledge shares issued through Franklin’s Benji platform as collateral for stablecoin-based credit lines used for trading on the crypto exchange.
The fund shares will remain in off-exchange custody rather than being transferred to Bybit. Clients can therefore use the value of their holdings to obtain credit denominated in USDT or USDC while retaining the underlying money-market fund positions. The arrangement is designed to let institutions finance crypto trades without selling their fund shares.
How the collateral program works
Eligible institutions will pledge tokenized shares of Franklin Templeton’s money-market funds through the program. In return, they can access stablecoin credit lines and use that liquidity to trade on Bybit. Because the assets stay in off-exchange custody, the collateral does not need to be deposited directly on the exchange.
Tokenized funds represent ownership interests in traditional financial assets on a blockchain. In this case, the shares are issued through Benji, Franklin Templeton’s platform for tokenized assets. Money-market funds generally invest in short-term instruments, and the companies said clients using the new arrangement can continue earning yield on their holdings while those assets support trading activity.
The companies have not disclosed the specific lending terms, eligible institutions or other operational details of the program. They are also planning a tokenized investment product for Bybit wallet users and the Mantle network, but further information about that product has not yet been announced.
Tokenized fund market expands
The initiative arrives as tokenized money-market funds become a larger part of the digital-asset market. According to Cointelegraph, the Bank for International Settlements valued the sector at more than $9 billion in September 2025.
Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform held $1.98 billion in assets under management in April, although RWA.xyz data later placed the figure at about $669 million. The figures show the scale of the platform’s activity while also indicating that its assets under management have changed substantially since April.
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, known as BUIDL, was identified as the largest tokenized money-market fund, with $2.2 billion. BUIDL is accepted as collateral on Crypto.com and Deribit, while Binance allows institutional customers to use it as off-exchange collateral. Bybit’s arrangement with Franklin Templeton adds another exchange-linked use case for tokenized fund shares.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at the stated times showed mixed performance across the listed assets. STABLE was priced at $0.0263506981 at 22:04 on September 25, 2026, down 0.32% over 24 hours but up 5.64% over seven days.
- EDGE: $0.552583551, down 1.82% in 24 hours and 4.82% over seven days, at 22:03.
- FUN: $0.0079030561, up 1.32% in 24 hours and 9.98% over seven days, at 22:03.
- ENJ: $0.0292537347, up 4.24% in 24 hours and 6.97% over seven days, at 22:04.
The market data is separate from the Bybit and Franklin Templeton announcement and does not indicate how the new collateral program will perform.
