Binance’s new U.S. stock product hit a major milestone in its first month: users acquired more than $1 billion in U.S. equities within 30 days of launch, the exchange announced.
Launched on June 1, Binance Direct Stocks lets eligible (non-U.S.) users buy fractional shares and ETFs — over 7,000 tickers are available — using stablecoins and selected crypto balances, with purchases starting from $5. Over the 30-day window (22 trading days), the product processed nearly $3 billion in trading volume, which works out to about $150 million in equities purchased per day on average.
Key user and usage stats
- $1 billion in U.S. equities acquired in 30 days.
- Nearly $3 billion in trading volume across 22 trading days.
- About 73% of Direct Stocks users came from emerging markets.
- Roughly 1 in 7 visitors to the stock-trading page registered an account, and nearly 90% of those new sign-ups placed a trade.
Binance framed the result as evidence of unmet demand in regions where traditional brokerage obstacles — bank wires, minimum balances, and market access — have limited retail participation. “A billion dollars in 30 days is a sign of the demand that’s been waiting decades for a door to walk through,” said Shunyet Jan, Binance’s Head of Spot and Derivatives Business, adding the product was built for users who “never had a way in.”
How it works and regulatory setup
Direct Stocks integrates equities alongside crypto balances in the same interface, removing several steps tied to traditional brokers (separate bank transfers and new account flows). Binance does not custody the securities. Instead, Binance disclosed a stake in Alpaca as it rolled out the service: Nest Trading acts as the introducing broker while Alpaca handles execution, clearing, settlement, custody, dividends, and corporate actions. This partner-driven model gives Binance exposure to equities while keeping actual securities activity with regulated brokerage providers.
Market mix and growth outlook
Technology names dominated early holdings: the tech sector accounted for about 71% of Direct Stocks holdings, with semiconductor stocks making up roughly 48%. Binance projected — illustratively, not guaranteed — that Direct Stocks could top $10 billion by the end of 2026 if current growth continues.
Broader context
Binance’s push into equities follows wider industry moves to combine crypto rails with traditional finance. Binance has also rolled out bStocks, enabling eligible users to convert supported U.S. stock holdings into tokenized assets that can trade 24/7. Competitors are doing similar things: Bitget launched Stock+, which lets eligible users buy real U.S. stocks by converting crypto into USDC through regulated brokers.
The company’s internal research has forecast a far larger structural shift: Binance Research has suggested crypto exchanges could onboard up to 300 million new equity investors and funnel as much as $2 trillion of new capital into global stock markets by 2031, driven in part by stablecoins and reach into underbanked regions.
Bottom line
Binance’s Direct Stocks has demonstrated rapid early adoption, particularly among users in emerging markets, and highlights how stablecoins and crypto platforms are lowering friction for cross-border retail access to U.S. equities. The model pairs crypto-native onramps with regulated brokerage partners — a combination likely to draw scrutiny and attention as exchanges expand product offerings into traditional financial markets.
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