According to a recent report by The Information, cryptocurrency exchange Binance is exploring the possibility of relaunching "Stock Tokens." The product, which was launched in 2021 but was delisted due to regulatory concerns, is now attracting renewed market attention amidst changing regulatory and market conditions.
Binance has launched similar products before.
Stock tokens are blockchain tokens issued by digitizing the shares of publicly traded companies. Investors can hold a portion of the equity through tokens without purchasing the entire stock, and complete the holding and settlement on the blockchain while tracking the price of the underlying asset in real time. These products are considered an important bridge connecting traditional finance and the crypto market.
Binance first launched its stock token service in April 2021, initially offering Tesla stock tokens, and later expanding to well-known companies such as Coinbase, Strategy, Microsoft, and Apple. However, this move quickly attracted the attention of regulators. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) questioned whether the product might violate securities-related regulations, so Binance ultimately shut down the service entirely in July 2021.
Other market participants are also paying close attention.
Besides Binance, other market participants are also closely watching this area. OKX Global Managing Partner Haider Rafique revealed that OKX is also evaluating the development opportunities for equity tokens. In the United States, traditional financial institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq are also seeking regulatory approval to launch related products, indicating that equity tokens are gradually becoming a new focus of cross-market competition.
Regarding the possibility of a restart, a Binance spokesperson stated that exploring equity tokens is a natural next step in its mission to "bring traditional finance and cryptocurrency closer together." However, legal hurdles remain a key challenge. Equity tokens involve several issues not yet explicitly addressed in the crypto market structure bill being pushed forward by the US Congress, and the industry generally believes that the launch of related products may still be delayed under the current legal framework.
