In a significant move that bridges traditional finance with the cryptocurrency sector, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced a strategic partnership with Franklin Templeton, a major U.S. investment firm managing $1.64 trillion in assets. The collaboration, announced on September 10, 2025, aims to explore the tokenization of securities combined with a global trading infrastructure.
The partnership will leverage Franklin Templeton's expertise in compliant tokenization of securities and Binance's extensive global trading infrastructure and investor reach. Roger Bayston, Franklin Templeton's head of digital assets, stated: "Our goal is to take tokenization from concept to practice for clients to achieve efficiencies in settlement, collateral management, and portfolio construction at scale." Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at Franklin Templeton, emphasized that tokenization technology is evolving from "fringes to the financial mainstream" and viewed blockchain as "an opportunity to reimagine" legacy systems rather than a threat.
A Binance spokesperson confirmed that security tokenization products are expected to be unveiled later this year. The initiative aims to deliver innovative solutions that bring greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility to capital markets, with competitive yield generation and settlement efficiency.
This collaboration occurs amid growing institutional interest in tokenization. Earlier in the week, Nasdaq invested $50 million in Gemini and filed with the SEC to list tokenized stocks. Franklin Templeton, known as one of the first issuers of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. (EZBC in January 2024), brings substantial credibility to this venture. Binance, handling $22 billion in daily crypto trades, significantly outpaces competitors like CoinW and MEXC, which trade around $5 billion daily.