Binance says crypto exchanges could pull $2T into global stocks by 2031

@BinanceResearch has published a projection that could reshape how the financial industry thinks about equity market access. Its base case: crypto exchanges will channel $2 trillion in new capital and nearly 300 million new investors into global stock markets by 2031.

Emerging Markets as the Core Opportunity

The report frames crypto exchanges as a distribution layer for users who already hold digital assets but lack easy access to major stock markets. The evidence for that demand is already visible on @binance's own platform. Nearly 93% of the platform's initial stock-trading users came from emerging markets, where geographic constraints and limited access to brokerage services have historically restricted participation in global equity markets.

The average worker across Africa and Southern Asia earns below $300 per month, making single-share ownership effectively out of reach without fractionalization. Stablecoins and tokenized shares address that directly. The report estimated that stablecoins can remove an average 3.6% and about $40 per transaction in off-ramp costs for users moving money across borders.

From Crypto Platform to Equity Gateway

Binance plans to let non-U.S. users trade more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs with zero commissions and fractional purchases starting at $5. The exchange also plans bStocks, a tokenized equity product for eligible users on BNB Chain, which would allow users to convert supported equities into on-chain assets, with possible use in lending and liquidity markets.

Users can fund stock purchases with stablecoins and selected crypto balances, with USDC as the main stablecoin option, while Binance also supports $BNB, USDT, USD1 and $U for eligible users.

The bull scenario points to $5 trillion in annual equity inflows from crypto users within five years. However, the scale of that outcome is not guaranteed. The caveats are real, because projections of this size assume regulators allow the model to scale, that emerging-market demand holds, and that stablecoin-settled equities win lasting trust. The report said tokenized stock adoption will still depend on user eligibility, regulation, custody, market depth, and exchange support.

Binance is not alone in chasing the opportunity, as the race to merge crypto rails with equity markets has already drawn in the industry's biggest names, with Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong recently predicting that tokenized stocks will be "huge" in the years to come.

Sources:
Binance Research Sees $2T Equity Wave From Crypto Exchanges – crypto.news
Crypto Exchanges Could Funnel $2 Trillion Into Stocks by 2031 – BeInCrypto
Binance Discloses Alpaca Stake as Stock Trading Deal Expands – crypto.news