BNB Chain Becomes Largest Network for Franklin Templeton’s $1.5B BENJI Fund

BNB Chain Overtakes Stellar

The latest allocation marks a sharp change in the fund’s blockchain distribution. According to the reported figures, BENJI holdings on BNB Chain surged 1,226% over the past month, pushing the network into first place among the blockchains supporting the fund.

Stellar, which had previously held the largest share, has dropped to second. Its allocation stands at $583 million, or 23.76% of total BENJI assets, after a reported 11.81% decline over the same period as assets moved toward BNB Chain.

Ethereum ranks third with $159.1 million, representing 6.48% of the fund. Base, Arbitrum, and Avalanche account for much smaller portions, together making up less than 6% of total assets.

A Broader Multi-Chain Push

The BNB Chain launch extends one of the largest tokenized investment products to another public blockchain and continues Franklin Templeton’s push to make BENJI a multi-chain offering. Crypto analyst ALLINCRYPTO said Stellar helped establish the foundation for the fund before the company broadened the product across multiple networks.

Franklin Templeton has been building out its blockchain strategy since 2021, when it launched what the source article described as the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain for transaction processing and ownership records. Since then, the firm has expanded BENJI across several chains while also supporting tokenized money market funds, mutual funds, and other investment products.

Why BNB Chain Was Added

The source article said the addition of BNB Chain fits Franklin Templeton’s effort to widen access to BENJI through networks with lower costs and faster transaction processing. Roger Bayston, the firm’s head of digital assets, said the goal is to meet investors on the platforms where they are already active.

That places the expansion within a competitive environment where public blockchains are seeking to attract regulated financial products and the institutions behind them. BENJI’s distribution now shows BNB Chain as the dominant network in that contest for this fund, at least based on the latest reported onchain values.

Traditional Finance Tokenization Expands

Franklin Templeton’s move comes amid wider adoption of tokenization by traditional financial institutions. The source article noted that earlier in the week DTCC completed its first live production trades involving tokenized securities, a development presented as evidence that large financial firms are moving blockchain activity beyond pilot programs.

The shift of BENJI assets toward BNB Chain therefore sits within a broader industry trend: established asset managers are increasingly placing traditional financial products onto public blockchain infrastructure, while networks compete to host those products.