Singapore’s DBS Bank, US investment firm Franklin Templeton, and tech company Ripple are teaming up to offer accredited and institutional investors new trading and lending solutions. These will be powered by tokenized money market funds on the XRP Ledger blockchain and stablecoins like Ripple USD (RLUSD).
The trio said in a statement on Thursday that this partnership – formalized with the signing of a memorandum of understanding – brings together the unique strengths of one of Asia’s largest financial institutions, a global investment manager and the leader in enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions.
“Digital asset investors need solutions that can meet the unique demands of a borderless 24/7 asset class,” said Lim Wee Kian, CEO of DBS Digital Exchange. “This partnership demonstrates how tokenized securities can play that role while injecting greater efficiency and liquidity in global financial markets,” Kian added.
DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) will list sgBENJI, a tokenized version of Franklin Templeton’s US Dollar Short-Term Money Market Fund, together with Ripple USD (RLUSD).
This will let clients trade between RLUSD and sgBENJI anytime, making it easier to rebalance their portfolios quickly and earn returns during uncertain market conditions.
Holding cryptocurrencies can expose investors to high market volatility, and they may not earn any yield on their portfolios. To help clients manage their digital assets more easily, DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) will list sgBENJI — a token from Franklin Templeton’s tokenized US Dollar Short-Term Money Market Fund — alongside Ripple USD (RLUSD).
With this setup, eligible DBS clients can quickly trade RLUSD for sgBENJI tokens 24/7, allowing them to shift into a more stable asset and earn returns even during volatile market conditions. In the future, DBS plans to let clients use sgBENJI tokens as collateral to unlock liquidity. This could include borrowing from the bank through a repo transaction or from third-party platforms, with DBS acting as the trusted custodian of the collateral. This ensures clients gain access to more liquidity pools while keeping their assets secure.
To strengthen the tokenization ecosystem, Franklin Templeton will also tokenize sgBENJI on the XRP Ledger, a fast and low-cost blockchain. Adding XRP Ledger to its existing blockchains improves cross-network compatibility making tokenized assets more accessible. The XRP Ledger’s speed and efficiency make it a strong platform for handling high-volume low-latency assets like tokenized money market funds, ensuring smooth trading and settlement for institutional investors.
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, said the company believes blockchain and tokenization can create powerful new use cases with the potential to transform the global financial system.
“Leveraging Franklin Templeton’s expertise in blockchain technologies and digital assets, we are excited to partner with DBS and Ripple to introduce cutting-edge trading and lending solutions for investors,
“This collaboration represents a meaningful advancement in the utility of tokenised securities and a significant step forward in the growth of Asia’s digital asset ecosystem,” he added.
Nigel Khakoo, VP and Global Head of Trading and Markets at Ripple, said that 2025 has seen many firsts with traditional financial institutions moving to blockchain.
He added that the partnership between Ripple, DBS, and Franklin Templeton to enable the first repo trade for a tokenized money market fund using a regulated and stable exchange like RLUSD is a real game-changer.
“Investors can also seamlessly rebalance their portfolios between a stablecoin and a yield- generating money market fund, all within a single, trusted ecosystem, unlocking real-world capital efficiency, utility and liquidity that institutions demand,” he added.
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