Binance has launched a stock trading service for customers outside the US, letting them buy and sell over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs directly from their exchange wallets. The service, announced June 2, offers zero-commission trades and fractional shares starting at $5. Users fund purchases with stablecoins like USDC and USDT, plus other digital assets including Binance's own BNB. A partnership with broker-dealer Nest Trading and New York-based Alpca handles the custody, settlement, and dividend payouts.
How the service works
Non-US users can now trade major US equities without leaving the Binance interface. No commission, no account minimum beyond the $5 fractional threshold. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng pointed out that US stocks make up more than half the global equity market. The push, he said, aims to cut the high costs and friction overseas investors normally face. The exchange is effectively bridging crypto liquidity with traditional stock markets — funded by digital assets, settled via traditional rails through Alpaca and Nest Trading.
The bStocks tokenization angle
Binance also introduced bStocks, a plan to tokenize purchased equities on its BNB blockchain. Once a user buys a stock, they can initiate the tokenization process themselves, converting the position into a digital token. That functionality is expected in the coming weeks. It lets users hold a representation of the equity on-chain, though the underlying stock remains custodied by Alpaca. The move positions Binance as more than just a crypto exchange — it's now a gateway for crypto-native investors to access traditional assets without leaving the ecosystem.
Competition and market reaction
Analyst Zero Kyle noted the announcement could pressure decentralized exchange Hyperliquid (HYPE), given the overlap in user bases and trading appeal. But he added it won't necessarily hurt the HYPE token. The timing isn't great for Hyperliquid's team, which has been pushing into derivatives and spot markets. Binance's scale and existing user liquidity make it a formidable new competitor in the retail equity space.
Binance's own token, BNB, traded at $692 at the time of the announcement, down 2.3% on the day. That's a modest dip given the news — markets seem to be weighing the expansion against other macro factors. The stock trading rollout is live now for non-US customers, and the bStocks feature will activate in the coming weeks.
