The world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, has opened trading in US stocks and exchange-traded funds for its users — right inside the same app where they hold their crypto. More than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs are available at launch, with no trading commission. It is one of the boldest moves yet in the race among crypto platforms to become "financial super apps."
What happened
Binance added a section for familiar securities: shares of major companies and popular ETFs. Users no longer need a separate brokerage account — they can buy a slice of a tech company in the same place they trade Bitcoin.
Trading carries no commission. There is only a minimum platform fee — $0.35 per order, or 0.1% for orders above $350. Users can even buy fractional shares from $5, lowering the entry barrier for newcomers.
How it works
Binance itself does not hold the stocks or act as the broker. Behind the scenes runs a chain of partners: orders are taken by broker Nest Trading and passed to US firm Alpaca Securities, which handles execution, clearing, settlement, custody, dividend payments, and corporate actions.
Trading runs around the clock, five days a week — markets are closed on weekends. The service targets customers outside the US; in some countries it may be unavailable due to local rules.
What bStocks are
The headline feature is the announcement of bStocks. These are tokenized versions of purchased shares: a user will be able to turn their stock into a digital token on the BNB Chain blockchain themselves. The launch is promised within weeks.
An important caveat from the exchange itself: bStocks are not stocks but "certificates representing financial instruments." Legally, that means a derivative token tied to the share's value, not direct ownership of it. Kraken and Robinhood have launched similar products before.
Why it matters
Binance openly states its goal — to become a multi-asset financial super app where crypto, stocks, and tokenized assets all sit in one window. That blurs the line between traditional finance and blockchain.
- A platform race. Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood are heading the same way — crypto and stocks in one app are becoming the new standard.
- A bet on BNB Chain. Tokenizing bStocks routes activity onto the exchange's own blockchain, strengthening the role of the BNB ecosystem.
- Accessibility. Fractional shares from $5 and zero commission open the stock market to mass retail users worldwide.
In short
Binance is turning from "a place to trade crypto" into a venue where stocks and tokens sit side by side. 7,000 commission-free securities is about reach; bStocks is about betting that the future of securities is, after all, on-chain.
The next question is regulators: the deeper crypto exchanges push into classic brokers' territory, the more closely watchdogs will watch them. But the industry's direction of travel is now clear.
