Crypto exchanges are expanding beyond digital assets into traditional markets, transforming them into global brokerages. Binance recently launched trading in U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds, giving users access to more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs alongside crypto tokens.
This marks a significant shift for the industry, with exchanges like Kraken offering tokenized equities through its xStocks product. Bybit also offers tokenized IPO access, allowing retail investors to buy into high-profile private companies.
The trend is driven by the logic that crypto exchanges already have established infrastructure, including trading interfaces, custody systems, and compliance operations. Adding traditional assets allows them to become broader investment platforms, creating a single app for users to trade in crypto, equities, and potentially tokenized real-world assets.