Crypto exchanges are opening a two-front war for the stock market
Binance, Kraken, Bybit, and Gemini are moving to add US stocks and ETFs to their crypto trading apps, making a direct play for the retail brokerage relationship that Wall Street has owned for a century.
Binance launched direct access to more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs alongside bStocks, a tokenized product offering 1:1 economic exposure to selected US equities that settle in stablecoins, can be withdrawn to self-custody wallets, and trade 24/7 on Binance Spot.
Kraken’s xStocks reached 100 fully backed tokenized US stocks and ETFs, surpassed $25 billion in transaction volume since June 2025, and is targeting 500+ listings by the end of 2026.
On June 7, Bybit announced it would give retail investors access to tokenized IPOs, starting with SpaceX, with spot trading opening on June 12.
Gemini allows customers in eligible European countries to trade Dinari dShares, tokenized stocks backed 1:1 by corresponding US equities, with zero trading fees and 24/7 availability.
Each exchange is making the same offer to trade Nvidia, Tesla, or Apple using the same wallet, stablecoin balance, and always-on interface already used for Bitcoin and Solana.
That offer forces two simultaneous confrontations: rival crypto exchanges competing for the same users, and Wall Street brokers defending the equity trading relationship they have owned for a century.
Exchanges racing each other
Binance’s first-week data for its direct stock product shows that users in emerging markets accounted for over 80% of trading volume. Around 39% of trades were under $100, and roughly 25% of stock users were under 25.
These are mobile-first traders who already live inside crypto apps and now have a direct route to US equities without ever opening a conventional brokerage account.
With Binance opening that route, every competing exchange faces the competitive logic: a user who can buy Apple, hold stablecoins, and trade Bitcoin in one app stays there. Kraken, Bybit, and Gemini are all responding by making equities native to crypto accounts.
The battle lines run across inventory depth, liquidity, stablecoin funding, trading hours, fees, wallet withdrawal, and IPO access.
| Platform | Stock/ETF access | Trading model | Hours | Differentiator | Strategic threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 7,000+ direct US stocks/ETFs; bStocks for selected equities | Direct stock access plus tokenized 1:1 economic exposure | 24/7 for bStocks; extended access for direct stocks | Stablecoin settlement, self-custody withdrawal, large global user base | Turns crypto app into brokerage hub |
| Kraken | 100 xStocks; targeting 500+ by end-2026 | Fully backed 1:1 tokenized equities/ETFs | 24/5 | $25B+ transaction volume since June 2025 | Builds scale and liquidity in tokenized equities |
| Bybit | Tokenized IPO access starting with SpaceX | IPO-style tokenized access | Spot trading from June 12 | Private/pre-IPO access angle | Repackages scarce institutional access for retail |
| Gemini | Dinari dShares in eligible European countries | 1:1-backed tokenized stocks | 24/7 | Zero trading fees, EU availability | Shows the trend is CEX-wide, not Binance-only |
Bybit’s SpaceX angle shows where that last category is heading, with access to pre-IPO or newly public companies, historically gatekept by institutional brokers and wealth managers, repackaged as a retail distribution product available globally.
Kraken also opened access to the SpaceX IPO for clients in more than 110 countries via xStocks.
Binance Research projects that crypto exchanges could channel nearly 300 million new users and approximately $2 trillion in incremental capital into global equities by 2031.
The prize is the default financial app for a generation of traders who grew up trading crypto on their phones.
Crypto apps vs. market structure
NYSE announced a tokenized securities platform in January, designed for 24/7 trading, fractional shares, immediate settlement, and stablecoin funding.
In March, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposal to allow certain Russell 1000 stocks and major index ETFs to trade and settle in tokenized form through the DTC.
Traditional market infrastructure is converging on the same product logic as crypto exchanges. The contest between them is over who controls the rails, the rights framework, the custody layer, and the retail distribution relationship.
The World Federation of Exchanges has warned regulators that third-party tokenized equities can fragment liquidity, weaken price discovery, and expose investors to custody and enforceability risks absent from conventional share ownership.
The SEC’s January 2026 staff statement distinguished issuer-sponsored tokenized securities and third-party products, noting that the latter may be custodial entitlements or synthetic instruments that provide exposure without equity, voting, information, or other rights from the referenced issuer.
Binance says bStocks are not stocks or shares and do not allow holders to own the listed company’s underlying shares directly.
Kraken says xStocks do not confer ownership, though account balances may adjust to reflect dividends.
Robinhood’s EU product page describes its stock tokens as derivative contracts priced by reference to the underlying security, granting no rights to the underlying security.
Each product delivers economic exposure inside a crypto account, with the holder’s legal position determined by the issuer’s structure, jurisdiction, and redemption mechanics.
What traders are actually buying
At one end of the tokenized stock products spectrum, Binance’s direct stock product routes orders through an external brokerage and clearing partner, giving users exposure more closely resembling conventional share ownership.
At the other end, products structured as synthetic or derivative instruments provide users with price exposure through a contractual claim on an issuer, wrapper, or counterparty.
Most products now on the market sit between those poles, with custodial entitlements backed 1:1 by real shares held by a third-party special-purpose vehicle, in which the user’s rights depend on that vehicle’s structure and jurisdiction.
A trader buying “Nvidia” on a crypto exchange gets price exposure to Nvidia’s stock, with a claim that runs to a custodian or derivative counterparty, governed by terms that differ materially from those covering a share purchased through a registered broker-dealer.
| Product structure | What the user sees | What the user may actually hold | Typical rights question | Risk to explain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broker-routed direct stock access | “Buy Apple” | Exposure routed through brokerage/clearing infrastructure | Does the user have ordinary shareholder rights? | Depends on brokerage, custody, and jurisdiction |
| 1:1-backed tokenized stock | “Tokenized Apple” | Token or entitlement backed by shares held by issuer/SPV/custodian | Are voting, dividend, redemption, and claim rights passed through? | User may rely on wrapper/custodian, not issuer |
| Synthetic or derivative token | “Apple price exposure” | Contractual claim referencing Apple’s share price | Is there any claim on the underlying security? | Counterparty, redemption, and disclosure risk |
| Crypto-native transferable token | “Withdrawable stock token” | On-chain instrument usable outside the exchange | What happens if trading, custody, or redemption fails? | Market fragmentation and enforceability risk |
What the numbers price in
Citi’s June 2026 tokenization forecast puts the range of outcomes in concrete terms. In the base case, tokenized assets reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, led by public-market securities, including roughly $2.6 trillion in US equities.
In the bull case, total tokenized assets reach $8.2 trillion, with US equities approaching $3.9 trillion, a number that would represent a structural reorientation of how global retail capital accesses American markets.
Crypto exchanges become the dominant retail brokerage for traders outside the US, and stablecoins eventually replace cash accounts as the funding layer for equities, ETFs, and private-market exposure.
IPO access becomes a distribution product that crypto apps sell to their global user bases. The closing bell loses cultural authority when traders across emerging markets have spent years buying Apple on their phones, unaware of 4 p.m. Eastern Time as a constraint.
| Scenario | Total tokenized assets by 2030 | US equity-linked opportunity | What it means for crypto exchanges | What it means for Wall Street |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear case | $2.7T | Compliance-heavy, limited rollout | Tokenized stocks remain a niche product, slowed by broker-dealer, derivatives, and exchange-registration rules. | NYSE, Nasdaq, DTC, and regulated brokers capture most tokenized equity flows. |
| Base case | $5.5T | Around $2.6T in public-equity demand | Crypto apps become important distribution channels for non-US and emerging-market retail investors. | Traditional infrastructure keeps custody and settlement control, but loses some user relationship to crypto apps. |
| Bull case | $8.2T | US equities approaching $3.9T | Crypto exchanges become full retail brokerage competitors, with stablecoins funding equities, ETFs, and IPO access. | Wall Street faces a parallel global brokerage layer built on crypto wallets and always-on trading behavior. |
In the bear case, regulators force third-party tokenized equity products into broker-dealer, derivatives, or exchange registration frameworks, imposing rights disclosures and custody standards that slow rollout by jurisdiction.
Tokenized assets land near Citi’s $2.7 trillion floor, with public equities remaining a compliance-heavy side product. NYSE and Nasdaq, operating under DTC and SEC approval, capture the regulated tokenization layer, while crypto apps serve traders in markets where conventional brokerage access remains thin.
The real contest
The global equity market cap reached $126.7 trillion in 2024, with US markets accounting for nearly half, according to SIFMA’s 2025 fact book.
Goldman Sachs projects US IPO proceeds could reach a record $160 billion in 2026, with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic among the names driving that cycle.
The S&P 500’s tech sector accounted for more than 39% of the index’s market cap in early June, the highest concentration on record. These are the assets global retail traders want, and crypto exchanges are the first mobile-native, stablecoin-funded, always-on platforms positioned to sell access to them outside the US brokerage system.
NYSE and Nasdaq are building tokenized rails and regulators are drafting frameworks, but the user relationship already belongs to the crypto app.
The brokerage war ahead will be fought over whether the world’s retail traders buy stocks through Wall Street’s infrastructure, or through the apps already sitting on their phones.
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