Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has agreed to integrate Franklin Templeton’s BENJI tokenized money market funds onchain. The collaboration with the global asset manager also includes co-development of new tokenized yield-focused products aimed at institutional and retail investors.
Kraken Parent Payward Pairs with Franklin Templeton for Tokenized Assets
12 May 2026 - 15:30 CEST
Benji integration planned
The alliance, announced on 12 May at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, pairs Franklin Templeton (BEN), which managed $1.74tn in assets as of 30 Apr, with Payward’s crypto-native trading and custody infrastructure. BENJI is Franklin Templeton’s suite of tokenized money market funds, specifically the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund. It represents one of the first US-registered mutual funds to use a public blockchain as the official system of record for share ownership and transactions.
The partnership builds on earlier moves in the industry such as BlackRock’s integration with Coinbase Prime and OKX’s alliance with BlackRock and Standard Chartered. BlackRock’s competing BUIDL fund is a tokenized US Treasury money market product that has grown rapidly among institutions. These initiatives, though groundbreaking, signal a gradually developing interest from certain TradFi firms, with investors keeping an eye on whether wider adoption will occur.
Yield products developed
Payward’s xStocks framework – its leading tokenized equities platform that brings publicly listed US stocks and ETFs onchain as fully collateralized, 1:1-backed tokens – has processed more than $30bn in volume since its 2025 launch. The partners will explore actively managed onchain investments and tokenized yield-focused products. These will deliver professional management, transparency, flexibility and programmability. Targeting institutional clients initially, they will extend, where permitted, to Kraken’s broader user base.
"By expanding the utility of BENJI and exploring new tokenized products, our work with Payward reflects the growing need to serve both digital-native and institutional customers with solutions built for how capital increasingly moves onchain," said Sandy Kaul, head of digital assets and innovation at Franklin Templeton.
Payward operates in more than 190 countries and territories through its family of platforms, including Kraken, NinjaTrader and Payward Services. It offers crypto trading, derivatives, tokenized equities, staking, custody and B2B financial infrastructure. Franklin Templeton has been developing digital asset strategies since 2018, combining traditional portfolio management with tokenization expertise.
Payward filed an application for national trust company status with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on 8 May. Approval would enable it to establish the Payward National Trust Company and offer qualified fiduciary custody, along with expanded digital asset services in the US.
