Binance is widening its reach into traditional finance with the launch of options trading on more than 1,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds for eligible users outside the United States. The rollout gives those users access to physically settled options through a single Binance account.
The options are being offered through Nest Trading, Binance’s broker-dealer regulated in Abu Dhabi. Orders are routed to US-registered Alpaca Securities, which handles execution, clearing, settlement and custody.
The new offering builds on Binance’s existing equities business, which already includes more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs. By adding options, the exchange is broadening the set of traditional financial products available on its platform.
These contracts differ from equity-linked perpetual futures because they are physically settled. If users exercise them, they receive or deliver the underlying shares.
According to Binance, the expansion comes as trading activity in traditional financial products on the platform has picked up. TradFi perpetual futures volume reached about $433 billion in August, roughly 15 times the total recorded in January.
Tokenized equities market posts strong growth
As crypto exchanges and traditional brokerages add more tokenized equity products, the onchain stock market has grown sharply over the past year.
Data from RWA.xyz shows tokenized stocks now hold about $2.6 billion in distributed value, up from roughly $346 million at the same time last year. Monthly transfer volume rose 93% over the past 30 days to $25.1 billion, while the number of holders increased 157% to nearly 2.5 million.
Last week, Coinbase brought its B20 tokenized equities to Base, giving eligible non-US users 24/7 access to onchain versions of stocks including Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet. Those assets can also be integrated into DeFi protocols for uses such as trading and collateralized borrowing.
Kraken also moved deeper into equities in August, opening access to more than 7,000 US-listed stocks for eligible customers in Europe and placing them alongside its expanding lineup of tokenized xStocks.
In July, US online brokerage Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain and introduced a new generation of Stock Tokens for eligible users in more than 120 countries.