Franklin Templeton Expands Benji Technology Platform to Canton Network

The Canton Network said that Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform is now live on its blockchain, expanding the asset manager’s presence in regulated digital markets and giving institutional investors wider access to tokenized investment products.

The move links Franklin Templeton’s blockchain infrastructure to Canton’s Global Collateral Network, a distributed system designed to connect traditional finance with on-chain markets. The integration gives market makers and institutions a new source of liquidity and collateral while maintaining compliance and privacy standards, according to an emailed announcement on Wednesday.

Tokenization is the process by which real-world assets (RWA) are converted into blockchain-based tokens. In a report last month, investment bank Standard Chartered (STAN) predicted that tokenized RWA will hit $2 trillion by 2028.

Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform underpins its tokenization strategy, powering the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain for transactions and recordkeeping in 2021. Since then, the firm has rolled out several tokenized products spanning retail, wealth, and institutional clients.

“Our bottom line is to meet institutions where they are, and just as importantly, where they’re headed,” Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, said in the release. “Integrating with the Canton Network gives clients interoperability and privacy without compromising transparency or security.”

The partnership also strengthens Canton’s role in institutional decentralized finance (DeFi), particularly through its Global Collateral Network. Singapore-based trading firm QCP plans to tap into the platform for liquidity, the release said.

Canton Network, developed by Digital Asset and backed by firms including Goldman Sachs (GS), BNP Paribas (BNP), and Broadridge (BR), aims to create a permissioned blockchain infrastructure connecting traditional and digital markets. The addition of Franklin Templeton’s technology brings a new layer of tokenized financial products to its expanding institutional ecosystem.

Read more: Canton Network Activity Surges as Exchanges Join Validators: Copper Research