Binance opens 8,000 US stocks and ETFs to non-US users

Binance opened access to over 8,000 U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds for customers outside the United States on Monday. Fractional shares start at $5, trades carry no commission and payments can be made with stablecoins or Binance’s BNB token.

Customers can use USDC, USDT and a small set of other tokens to buy equities; BNB is also accepted. Trade execution and back-office functions are split among partners: broker-dealer Nest Trading will arrange purchases, and Alpaca, a New York firm, will handle custody, dividend payments and corporate actions.

Richard Teng, Binance co‑CEO, noted that U.S. stocks make up well over half of global equities and pointed to demand from overseas investors who face high costs and friction when accessing U.S. markets.

In the coming weeks Binance plans to allow customers to convert owned shares into tokenized versions called bStocks on the BNB Chain. Users will be able to initiate tokenization themselves to create on-chain tokens that represent the underlying equities.

Binance described the bStocks offering in a statement: “bStocks offering will provide a native bridge from traditional stock ownership to programmable, always-on tokenized assets at a global scale … This unlocks mobility and utility for real-world equities within and beyond the Binance ecosystem, enabling continuous on-chain access and potential DeFi applications, from lending to liquidity provision.”

The exchange previously halted stock tokens in 2021 after regulators questioned whether those products were unregistered securities.

The new trading service aligns with a broader trend of crypto platforms adding traditional finance products. Some exchanges and trading platforms have launched tokenized stocks or added stock trading services for overseas customers, and market operators and asset managers have outlined tokenization initiatives for other asset types.

How much trading volume moves on-chain after bStocks become available remains uncertain. Binance and its partners will monitor demand among overseas investors in the weeks following the launch.