Binance data shows tokenized equities are changing how crypto traders access stocks

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has revealed that a large share of the traders using its newest tokenized stock product had never engaged with equities on the exchange before.

The exchange has spent the past several months building out three separate routes into traditional market exposures, launching pre-IPO exposure through perpetual futures, direct access to US-listed stocks, and bStocks, its tokenized on-chain securities. 

One of the standout figures is that four in ten bStocks users had their first-ever exposure via Binance’s TradFi via the product.

Why are new Binance users choosing the tokenized version first?

Binance’s figures show that 41.5% of bStocks traders had not previously used perpetual futures or direct stock trading on the platform, meaning the token was their first exposure to equities on Binance at all. 

According to the platform, bStock listings grew from 5 to 36 within a month, and combined market capitalization across the tokens reportedly passed $300 million over the same period.

Binance also says that the ease of use on the platform has made it easy for users to make certain moves that may require more steps on traditional platforms. It used SPCX, a recent pre-IPO listing of SpaceX stock on the platform, as a case study, stating that 8.6% of the users who traded its pre-IPO perpetual contract went on to buy the bStock version, as opposed to 0.6% who moved into the direct stock.

What happens once conventional markets close?

Traditional US equities trade on a 24/5 schedule. bStocks trades around the clock every day, and Binance said that difference shows up directly in its volume data. 

During regular US market hours, bStocks and direct stocks split equity-linked volume on Binance almost evenly, with bStocks at 48%. However, it goes up to 58% once the market closes for the day.

The exchange says that reasons for this go beyond extended hours. Each bStock is meant to be backed one-to-one by a share held with a regulated custodian, a claim the exchange says can be checked through its own Proof of Collateral page, and dividends are paid out automatically through a rebasing mechanism it calls the Multiplier. 

Holders can also deploy bStocks in decentralized finance, supplying them to liquidity pools or using them as collateral. Binance cited PancakeSwap liquidity pairs, which show yields ranging from roughly 32% to 228%, and native credit pools offering a steadier 5% to 10%.

Instant, fee-free conversion between a bStock and its underlying share is intended to keep the two priced closely together; however, gaps can still open when conventional markets are shut and on-chain trading continues. 

Binance said a sample of users generated $216 million in trades exploiting these gaps between June 11 and July 8. A small group of systematic traders accounted for most of that volume, even though most individual participants only traded once.

Does Binance’s data reflect a wider industry pattern?

Binance’s own figures suggest its products aren’t being used in isolation, as it pointed out that 58.5% of bStock users also traded perpetual futures or direct stocks in the same window, split across users combining perps and bStocks, all three products together, or direct stocks and bStocks.

Independent data shows tokenized stocks have become the largest real-world-asset (RWA) category by wallet count, with newcomers favoring tokenized equities as their entry point into the RWA market rather than as an add-on. The current distributed value tokenized stocks market is $1.88 billion, with a monthly transfer volume of over $7.6 billion per rwa.xyz data.

Several exchanges have expanded tokenized equity offerings into new markets this year, and clearing infrastructure providers like the DTCC have begun testing tokenized securities settlement, while major exchanges such as Nasdaq and the NYSE have launched their own tokenization initiatives.

Set against that backdrop, Binance’s numbers look less like an isolated marketing claim and more like a snapshot of a shift already underway across the industry.