Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced two major moves that deepen its integration with traditional financial markets, marking a significant shift in the digital asset landscape. On June 4, Binance will launch a Fully Paid Securities Lending (FPSL) service, while it has already made over 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs available for trading to eligible non-US users.
The FPSL service, a staple of conventional brokerage offerings, allows users to lend out eligible securities to other market participants in exchange for lending fees. Borrowed securities can be used for short selling, arbitrage, and market making. Binance will act as an intermediary, matching lenders with borrowers and managing collateral. This addition not only provides passive income opportunities for holders but also signals Binance's ambition to become a one‑stop financial platform, potentially attracting institutional investors familiar with such products. However, the move raises regulatory questions, as securities lending is heavily regulated worldwide and Binance has faced scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.
Simultaneously, Binance has rolled out trading for more than 7,000 US equities and exchange‑traded funds. The service, available to users outside the United States, enables fractional share purchases starting from $5 with zero trading commissions. Users can fund stock purchases using cryptocurrencies such as USDC, USDT, and BNB. The equity trading is facilitated through broker‑dealer Nest Trading, while New York‑based Alpaca oversees custody, dividends, and corporate actions. Binance Co‑CEO Richard Teng emphasized that US stocks represent more than half of the global equity market, yet many international investors face high barriers – a gap the exchange now aims to close.
Looking ahead, Binance plans to introduce tokenized stocks, branded as bStocks, on the BNB Chain within weeks. This feature will allow users to convert stock holdings into tokenized assets, potentially enabling faster settlement and integration with decentralized finance applications like lending protocols and liquidity pools. Interest in tokenized equities has surged, with daily trading volume hitting a record $3.57 billion on May 19, largely driven by Binance and Hyperliquid. Competitors such as Kraken and Robinhood have also entered the tokenized equity space, underscoring a broader industry trend toward bridging digital assets with traditional finance.
