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The latest technology news in the wealth management sector from around the world.
Aviva
Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva, and
Ripple, a financial
technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses,
have announced a partnership aimed at tokenizing traditional fund
structures.
Ripple will support Aviva Investors with the initiative as part
of its broader effort to bring traditional financial assets with
real utility to the XRP Ledger – a decentralised open-source
public blockchain that is designed for fast and efficient
global financial transactions. The collaboration is Ripple’s
first with an investment management business based in Europe,
building upon the firm’s significant experience working with
financial institutions in other regions.
The initiative is also the first of its kind for Aviva Investors.
The collaboration is anchored in a shared long-term vision, with
both parties set to work together closely over 2026 and beyond to
bring tokenized funds to the XRP Ledger.
The XRPL enables Aviva Investors to reliably issue and manage its
tokenized funds using fast, secure, low-cost blockchain
transactions, with the lack of mining required to settle
transactions expected to support energy efficiency. It offers a
set of features, including compliance capabilities designed
to support financial institutions operating in regulated markets.
Since 2012, the network has processed more than four billion
transactions, supports over seven million active wallets;
it is maintained by 120 independent validators.
“We believe there are many benefits that tokenization can bring
to investors, including improvements in terms of both time and
cost efficiency. As the investment arm of the UK’s leading
insurer, we have a long track record with regards to innovation.
We are committed to adopting technological advancements that we
believe can bring about positive change for our business, and we
think tokenized funds can be hugely beneficial to our
clients,” Jill Barber, chief distribution officer at Aviva
Investors, said.
“Tokenization is now moving from experimentation to large-scale
production. Institutions like Aviva Investors are now focused on
how to deploy regulated financial assets at scale. The
development of tokenized fund structures is one that we believe
can bring huge technological efficiencies to the investment
sector, and we expect this to take full effect over the next
decade. With its built-in compliance tools, near-instant
settlement, and native liquidity, the XRPL provides the secure
and scalable infrastructure required to support the next
generation of institutional assets,” Nigel Khakoo, vice
president, trading and markets, Ripple, added.
Franklin Templeton, Binance
California-based investment manager Franklin
Templeton, and Binance, a cryptocurrency
exchange by trading volume and users, has brought out a new
institutional off-exchange collateral programme, designed to make
digital markets more secure and capital-efficient. Now live,
eligible clients in selected jurisdictions can use tokenized
money market fund shares issued through Franklin Templeton’s
Benji Technology Platform as off-exchange collateral when trading
on Binance, the firm said in a statement.
The programme aims to alleviate a pain point for
institutional traders by allowing them to use traditional
regulated, yield-bearing money market fund assets in digital
markets without parking those assets on an exchange. Instead, the
value of Benji-issued fund shares is mirrored within Binance’s
trading environment, while the tokenized assets themselves remain
securely held off-exchange in regulated custody. This reduces
counterparty risk, letting institutional participants earn yield
and support their trading activity without hedging on custody,
liquidity, or regulatory protections, the firm said in a
statement.
“Since partnering in 2025, our work with Binance has focused on
making digital finance actually work for institutions,” said
Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton. “Our
off-exchange collateral programme is just that: letting clients
easily put their assets to work in regulated custody while safely
earning yield in new ways. That’s the future Benji was designed
for, and working with partners like Binance allows us to deliver
it at scale.”
“Partnering with Franklin Templeton to offer tokenized real-world
assets for off-exchange collateral settlement is a natural next
step in our mission to bring digital assets and traditional
finance closer together,” said Catherine Chen, head of VIP
and institutional at Binance, added. “Innovating ways to use
traditional financial instruments on-chain opens up new
opportunities for investors and shows just how blockchain
technology can make markets more efficient”
Assets participating in the programme remain held off-exchange in
custody, arrangements provided by Ceffu, with tokenized money
market fund shares pledged as collateral for trading on Binance.
Ceffu is an institutional-grade custody platform offering custody
and liquidity solutions.
“Institutions increasingly require trading models that prioritise
risk management without sacrificing capital efficiency,” said Ian
Loh, CEO of Ceffu. “This programme demonstrates how off-exchange
collateral can support institutional participation in digital
markets while maintaining strong custody and control.”
Launching the institutional off-exchange collateral program
expands on both Franklin Templeton’s and Binance’s growing
networks of off-exchange program partners and represents another
effort since announcing Franklin Templeton and Binance’s
strategic collaboration in September 2025.
By using Benji to bridge tokenized money market funds, Franklin
Templeton is taking trusted investment products and making them
work in modern markets –allowing institutions to trade, manage
risk, and move capital more efficiently as digital finance
becomes an everyday part of the financial system.
Offering more tokenized real-world assets on Binance meets the
increasing institutional demand for stable, yield-bearing
collateral that can settle 24/7. This gives investors greater
choice and enhances their trading experience on the world’s
largest digital asset exchange.
