BUIDL and BENJI lead tokenized US Treasury bill growth as market balloons past early estimates

BlackRock’s BUIDL and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI posted the largest market cap increases among tokenized US Treasury products over the past 24 hours, a quiet milestone that says a lot about where fixed-income investing is heading.

BUIDL now sits at roughly $2.7B in total asset value. BENJI clocks in at about $727M. Together, the two products account for a massive share of a tokenized Treasury market that has grown from under $1B in early 2024 to an estimated $10B to $17B by mid-2026.

The two heavyweights, compared

BUIDL, which BlackRock launched on March 20, 2024, via Ethereum, has rapidly claimed approximately 40% of the entire on-chain tokenized Treasury market.

BENJI has been around longer, having launched on April 6, 2021, as a fully regulated on-chain mutual fund from Franklin Templeton. Its edge is accessibility: the minimum investment is just $20, compared to BUIDL’s $5M threshold that limits participation to qualified US purchasers.

On yield, the two are closely matched. BUIDL currently offers a 7-day annualized percentage yield of 3.42%, while BENJI edges ahead at 3.55%. Both figures track prevailing short-term Treasury rates closely.

Both products function as rebasing tokens, maintaining a stable net asset value of $1.00 per token. Yield gets distributed through periodic token minting rather than price appreciation.

Why the market is growing this fast

First, 24/7 settlement. Traditional Treasury markets close on weekends and holidays. Tokenized versions don’t.

Second, fractional ownership. BENJI’s $20 minimum is a direct challenge to the traditional bond market structure, where retail participation has historically been limited by high minimums and clunky brokerage interfaces.

Third, regulatory clarity. Franklin Templeton structured BENJI as a registered mutual fund, navigating SEC requirements head-on rather than trying to sidestep them.

What this means for the broader market

For retail investors, BENJI’s low entry point signals that tokenized government debt could eventually compete with stablecoins as a place to park idle capital. Why hold a dollar-pegged token yielding nothing when you could hold a tokenized Treasury yielding 3.55%?

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