EX.IO Becomes Franklin Templeton’s Licensed VATP Partner in Hong Kong, Offers BENJI to Pioneer a New Era of Compliant On-Chain Financial Instruments

(Hong Kong, June 11, 2026) EX.IO, a leading Hong Kong-licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP), and Franklin Templeton, a global investment manager with US$1.78 trillion in assets under management, today jointly announced the establishment of a long-term strategic partnership. As Franklin Templeton’s licensed VATP partner in Hong Kong, EX.IO has become the platform in the territory to distribute its tokenized product — the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund AB (Ddis) USD Class Shares (grBENJI) — opening a new era of compliant on-chain financial instruments for Hong Kong Professional Investors.

Bridging Traditional Finance and Web3 Innovation

Franklin Templeton launched the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain to process transactions and record share ownership in 2021, establishing a globally leading position in tokenization. As of May 31, 2026, the Benji platform’s assets under management reached US$2.4 billion, demonstrating strong market demand for tokenized financial products.

In Hong Kong, EX.IO is the first licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platform with a securities brokerage background under the strict supervision of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), holding Type 1 (Dealing in Securities) and Type 7 (Providing Automated Trading Services) licenses. It is also the only VATP admitted to the Hong Kong government’s “Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES)” initiative. This rare compliant status and policy endorsement enable EX.IO to lawfully distribute regulated Security Token Offerings (STO) and other innovative financial products to institutional and Professional Investors in Hong Kong.

Currently, as a defining force and practitioner in Hong Kong’s compliant Real World Asset (RWA) space, EX.IO has become the one of the leaders in distributing RWA products. The platform’s parent company has successfully issued Hong Kong’s first convertible preferred note RWA (EXCB25) and RWA projects backed by commercial real estate, demonstrating deep full-stack RWA compliant issuance and trading capabilities. Through this partnership with Franklin Templeton, EX.IO further cements its core hub position in the institutional-grade tokenization ecosystem. At the same time, this provides Franklin Templeton with a strategic gateway to directly access Hong Kong’s compliant RWA market, leveraging EX.IO’s strong distribution capabilities to accelerate the landing and liquidity expansion of Franklin Templeton’s tokenized fund products in Asia.

Thriving RWA Market — Tokenized Finance Becomes a Global Trend

According to major research institutions, the tokenized asset market is projected to reach US$30.1 trillion by 2034[1]; leading consulting firms also estimate that approximately US$16 trillion in assets will be tokenized by 2030[2]. In this wave, strategic partnerships between traditional financial institutions and compliant digital asset platforms are becoming the critical bridge driving institutional capital into on-chain finance.

Introducing Intraday Yield Mechanism, Filling a Gap in the Digital Market

The grBENJI offered this time is a tokenized money market fund product authorized by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) of Luxembourg, falling under the short-term public debt constant net asset value fund within the EU Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) framework. The grBENJI is available only to Professional Investors as defined under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and is not authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission for offering to the public in Hong Kong. The product leverages Franklin Templeton’s patent-pending Intraday Yield mechanism, which calculates and distributes yield with second-level precision, enabling investors to earn corresponding yield even when holding positions for only a few hours, and supports daily yield distribution 365 days a year (including weekends and holidays). Unlike traditional money market funds that settle only on business days, this innovative mechanism fully harnesses the 24/7 operating advantage of blockchain technology, creating continuous yield opportunities for investors’ idle funds and effectively addressing the structural inefficiency where institutional capital currently sits in stablecoins or exchange balances without generating returns.

Ms. Chen WU, Co-founder and CEO of EX.IO: “EX.IO’s core mission is to bridge traditional finance and the Web3 ecosystem. Franklin Templeton’s distinguished reputation in asset management, combined with our compliant architecture as a VATP and our extensive experience in the RWA domain, will together open a new era of secure, efficient, and liquid on-chain financial instruments for institutional investors.”

Simon Wong, Head of Retail Wealth, North Asia and Co-Head of Hong Kong, Franklin Templeton: “Our selection of EX.IO as one of our key partners in Hong Kong reflects our focus on working with firms that bring the right expertise to each market. Their securities brokerage background, RWA capabilities, and institutional expertise are well-suited to Hong Kong’s regulatory environment and infrastructure — and to the continued growth of our Benji platform in Asia. We are focused on building a meaningful, long-term partnership, and we look forward to growing our tokenized product offering beyond money market funds over time.”

About EX.IO

EXIO Limited (“EX.IO”) is a regulated Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) approved by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong since December 2024. As one of the first platforms to pass the “deemed licensed” regime review under Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) and Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615) regulatory framework, EX.IO has established its position as a leading compliant exchange. The platform is also the only VATP admitted to the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) system in Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit:www.ex.io

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton is a trusted investment partner, delivering tailored solutions that align with clients’ strategic goals. With deep portfolio management expertise across public and private markets, we combine investment excellence with cutting-edge technology. Since our founding in 1947, we have empowered clients through strategic partnership, forward-looking insights, and continuous innovation – providing the tools and resources to navigate change and capture opportunity.

With more than US$1.7 trillion in assets under management as of May 31, 2026, Franklin Templeton operates globally in more than 35 countries.

To learn more, visit franklintempleton.com.hk and follow us on LinkedIn.

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN]

Disclaimer

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References

[1] Standard Chartered and Synpulse. “Real-world asset tokenisation: A game changer for global trade.” 2024. Available at: https://cdn.treasury-management.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/StandardCharterd_RealWorld-Asset-Tokenisation_GlobalTrade_2024.pdf

[2] Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and ADDX. “Asset tokenization projected to grow 50x into US$16 trillion opportunity by 2030.” Press release dated September 12, 2022. Report titled “Relevance of on-chain asset tokenization in ‘crypto winter’.” Available at: https://addx.co/files/bcg_ADDX_report_Asset_tokenization_trillion_opportunity_by_2030_de2aaa41a4.pdf