Franklin Templeton Wires BENJI Money-Market Fund Into MoonPay Trade for Onchain Stablecoin Swaps

Why It Matters

The integration provides institutions with faster, programmable access to stablecoin liquidity and a regulated money‑market fund, enhancing capital efficiency and broadening tokenized asset adoption in traditional finance.

Key Takeaways

• BENJI now tradeable on MoonPay’s institutional on‑chain platform
• Institutions can swap stablecoins for US government MMF shares instantly
• Franklin’s $821 M tokenized fund joins $11.2 B tokenized‑treasury market
• MoonPay expands from fiat‑ramp to regulated tokenized fund venue
• Access limited to KYC‑cleared institutional users only

Pulse Analysis

Tokenized money‑market funds have moved from niche experiments to regulated financial products, and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI is at the forefront. Launched in 2021 as the first US‑registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for record‑keeping, BENJI now manages roughly $821 million and is tracked in the growing $11.2 billion tokenized‑treasury segment. By anchoring its Benji Technology Platform to MoonPay Trade, Franklin gives institutional investors a seamless on‑chain bridge between stablecoins and a government‑backed fund, eliminating the friction of off‑chain settlement and opening new use cases such as automated treasury management and real‑time collateralization.

MoonPay Trade, originally a fiat‑to‑crypto on‑ramp, has rapidly evolved into an institutional execution layer that aggregates routing, quoting and settlement across more than 200 blockchains. The BENJI listing marks one of the first instances where a US‑registered MMF appears on a third‑party on‑chain exchange, positioning MoonPay alongside crypto‑native products while maintaining regulatory compliance. This hybrid approach boosts liquidity for both stablecoins and tokenized funds, offering capital‑efficient alternatives to traditional cash management and potentially reshaping how banks and asset managers handle short‑term cash positions.

Looking ahead, the partnership signals a broader strategic alignment between legacy asset managers and crypto infrastructure providers. Franklin’s recent acquisitions and collaborations—ranging from Binance collateral arrangements to a stake in Digital—show a concerted push to embed tokenized assets across its product suite. As more institutions gain access to compliant on‑chain trading venues, the demand for programmable, low‑friction liquidity solutions is likely to accelerate, driving further innovation in the real‑world‑assets and tokenized‑treasury markets.