Binance has achieved $400 million in U.S. stock trading within a week of launching its direct trading feature, with most users from emerging markets.
Binance's recent introduction of direct trading for U.S. stocks has generated significant interest, amassing $400 million in assets under management within its first week. Notably, over 80% of the trading volume originated from users in emerging markets.
This innovative feature, launched in early June, diverges from traditional tokenized assets by granting users direct ownership of securities. The custody of approximately 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs is managed by Alpaca Securities, a regulated clearing broker.
Trades are processed using stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, with a minimum transaction amount set at just $5, and trading is available for five days a week. Approximately 10% of visitors to the product page registered, and among those, 64% executed at least one trade.
“The low entry threshold has significantly lowered barriers to accessing U.S. stocks. While traditional methods often require substantial bank transfers and fees, Binance has cut these costs substantially,” representatives from Binance highlighted.
Emerging Market Trend
The $5 minimum has shaped the trading landscape, with nearly 40% of trades being under $100. A significant portion of users—about 25%—are under 25, and around 70% of clients prefer holding stocks instead of frequent trading. During its opening week, users engaged with over 1,100 different instruments, with 124 trades surpassing $100,000 in volume.
Trade preferences have heavily leaned toward the technology sector; IT trades represented 57% of total transactions, with semiconductor stocks capturing around 44% of total inflow. The most traded stocks included NVDA, GOOGL, and MRVL.
Vision for a Financial Super App
This initiative aligns with Binance's broader goal of developing a comprehensive financial super app that integrates cryptocurrency, stock trading, and payment solutions into a single platform. Analysts estimate that there are around 700 million brokerage accounts globally, mirroring the number of cryptocurrency holders, while Binance boasts a user base exceeding 320 million.
Stablecoins facilitate transactions across these asset classes. In its first week, the trading volume for U.S. stocks accounted for approximately 2% of the volume seen in traditional asset perpetual contracts. By 2031, projections suggest that crypto exchanges could attract an additional 300 million users and inject around $2 trillion into global stock markets.
