Binance says its tokenized stock product bStocks has surpassed $1 billion in assets, reaching that level faster than other comparable tokenized stock products. Since launching on June 11, bStocks has recorded more than $40 billion in cumulative trading volume, while the number of supported securities has grown from five to nearly 100 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The figures indicate that some investors are testing ways to connect traditional equity exposure with blockchain trading and decentralized finance. However, bStocks represent certificates linked to the relevant shares rather than direct ownership of the shares themselves. Their trading performance and liquidity also do not necessarily match those of the underlying securities.
$6bn converted between shares and tokens
Eligible Binance customers can convert supported traditional stock holdings into the corresponding bStocks on a 1:1 basis without a conversion fee. After the conversion, customers can also exchange bStocks back into direct stock holdings. The total value of these two-way conversions has now exceeded $6 billion.
BTech Holdings, an affiliate of Binance, issues bStocks, while the underlying shares are held by a custodian. Binance previously offered eligible customers access to more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs through Nest Trading Limited, a broker regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). bStocks add another form of exposure to that existing trading access.
24-hour trading and limited margin use
Once tokenized, bStocks can be traded around the clock and withdrawn to wallets compatible with BNB Smart Chain. This allows customers to move stock-linked exposure into self-custody or use supported tokens in certain decentralized finance applications without first selling the shares for cash or cryptocurrency.
In September, Binance also made selected bStocks eligible as collateral for qualified Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin accounts. Customers can retain their stock-related exposure while using the tokens to support other trading positions, rather than selling the shares to release margin.
Trading-hour data shows that activity outside regular US market hours is one use case for the product. Binance said that just 38% of bStocks trading volume in July took place during normal US stock-market hours, with the remainder occurring outside those hours.
Binance Research also found that 41.5% of early bStocks users had not previously traded the relevant direct stocks or perpetual products on Binance. The figure covers those users’ trading records on Binance only and does not show whether they had invested in stocks through other platforms.
Binance and Ondo figures use different measures
Citing Dune data as of October 15, Binance said bStocks was the fastest tokenized stock product to reach $1 billion in assets. The comparison concerns the time required to reach that threshold; it does not mean that bStocks currently ranks first by assets among all comparable products.
On October 14, Ondo Finance said the total value locked (TVL) in its tokenized stocks and ETFs had exceeded $1.3 billion. Ondo also reported $4 billion in TVL across all of its products, including tokenized US Treasuries, portfolios and private-market assets. That broader $4 billion figure is therefore not directly comparable with bStocks on a standalone basis. Even the $1.3 billion figure for stocks and ETFs uses TVL, while Binance refers to assets under management (AUM), which are not identical measures.
Liquidity outside market hours remains a question
A report published by the International Monetary Fund in October said tokenized stocks can provide access outside traditional market hours, but their liquidity remains below that of conventional shares and their price volatility may be higher. When US markets are closed and the underlying stocks cannot trade at the same time, pricing, bid-ask spreads and the efficiency of exiting a position become particular points of focus.
The asset, conversion and trading figures for bStocks show interest in on-chain equity products, but they do not by themselves demonstrate that trading conditions are equivalent to those in traditional securities markets. Investors must also distinguish between the tokenized certificate, rights in the underlying shares, the custody structure and the trading and collateral uses permitted by the platform.