Crypto exchanges could funnel up to $2 trillion in new capital into global equity markets by 2031, according to a Binance Research report released this week. That's on top of an estimated 300 million new investors entering stock markets through digital-asset platforms. In a bull scenario, annual equity inflows from crypto sources could hit $5 trillion within five years.
Where the users are coming from
The report points out that roughly 62% of Americans already own stocks directly or through retirement accounts. But outside the U.S., global equity ownership sits below 20% of the population. That gap is where crypto exchanges step in. Binance said 93% of its initial stock-trading users came from emerging markets — places where limited brokerage access and geographic barriers had kept people out of equities. For many, a crypto app is the first investment account they've ever opened.
The bull-case numbers
The projection isn't modest. Binance Research's base case sees $2 trillion in incremental capital flowing from crypto into equities by 2031. Push the assumptions on adoption and regulatory clarity, and that number jumps to $5 trillion a year within five years. That would represent a meaningful fraction of total global equity trading volumes today.
What it depends on
None of this is baked in. The report flags three variables: regulatory developments, user adoption rates, and the expansion of tokenized equity markets. If regulators in major economies set clear rules for crypto-to-stock bridges, the flow could accelerate. If they drag their feet, the $2 trillion figure might stay hypothetical. Tokenized stocks — where real shares are represented on blockchain — are still a niche, but the report suggests they could become a major on-ramp.
Binance itself launched stock trading in 2025, offering fractional shares to users in select markets. The company didn't disclose current trading volumes, but the report signals that the strategy is about positioning for a decade-long shift.
Whether the crypto industry can actually deliver on that promise depends on trust. The exchange sector has had a rocky few years: outages, regulatory fines, and the occasional collapse of major players. But the report argues the infrastructure is maturing. The next test will be adoption numbers over the next 12 months — if emerging-market users keep signing up for stock trading on crypto apps, the $2 trillion target starts looking less like a dream and more like a forecast.
