Binance is moving deeper into traditional finance with a direct play on US equities. Starting immediately, the exchange will let users trade more than 7,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds commission-free, with fractional-share purchases beginning at $5.
The move targets a gap in cross-border investing. Co-CEO Richard Teng told Fortune that US equities represent more than half of global stock-market capitalization, yet overseas investors still face steep custodial costs and processing delays when buying them. Binance's offering sidesteps those friction points by routing trades through broker-dealer Nest Trading and holding assets via New York-based Alpaca, which manages custody, dividend payments, and corporate actions. Customers can fund purchases using stablecoins like USD Coin and USDT, as well as BNB and select other digital assets.
The infrastructure move is straightforward enough. What sets Binance apart is the parallel tokenization layer. Under its bStocks program–rolling out within weeks–the exchange will convert shares customers purchase into digital tokens on BNB Chain. Teng framed this as a bridge between traditional equity ownership and blockchain-native applications: instant settlement (versus the 1+ day standard on Wall Street), around-the-clock trading, and access to decentralized-finance products like lending and collateral provision.
Settlement speed matters. Conventional stock trades clear through multiple Wall Street intermediaries over 24+ hours. Blockchain trades settle almost instantly. For traders juggling positions across markets and time zones, or seeking to use shares as collateral in DeFi protocols, that's a material difference in execution and capital efficiency.
Binance is not alone in this pivot. Coinbase has already begun offering stock trading as it pursues what executives call an "everything exchange" strategy. On the legacy side, BlackRock and other institutional players are issuing US Treasuries through blockchain rails, a sign the boundary between crypto and traditional finance infrastructure is dissolving fast.
The regulatory path remains unclear. US regulators have not yet issued a formal framework for tokenized equities, and the Securities and Exchange Commission's posture on broker-dealers offering crypto-to-stock bridges is still being written. Binance said bStocks will be available within weeks; watch for official SEC or FINRA guidance on how custodians and settlement entities should handle tokenized share accounts. That timing, more than the launch itself, will determine whether this model scales.
Binance Launches Stock Trading for 7,000+ US Equities, ETFs
Binance is launching trading for over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs, expanding into traditional equities with commission-free and fractional-share options. They are also introducing tokenized stocks on BNB Chain to enable faster settlement and DeFi applications.