BlockBeats news, January 24, according to The Information, Binance is exploring the relaunch of stock tokens on its platform, after delisting the product in 2021. Stock tokens are digital tokens representing shares of publicly traded companies. Instead of buying whole shares of Apple or Microsoft stock, investors can purchase fractional shares; these tokens are held and settled on the blockchain and track the price of the underlying asset in real-time.
Binance launched its stock token service in April 2021, initially listing Tesla stock and expanding to include Coinbase, Strategy, Microsoft, and Apple shares. This move drew regulatory attention, with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) both questioning whether these tokens violated securities laws. In July 2021, Binance shut down the service.
OKX Global Managing Partner Haider Rafique told The Information that OKX is also monitoring this space. In the United States, traditional financial institutions are similarly trying to enter the market, with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq seeking regulatory approval to launch stock token products.
A Binance spokesperson told The Information: “Exploring the possibility of offering stock tokens is a natural next step in our mission to more closely integrate traditional finance with cryptocurrency.” However, legal hurdles remain. Stock tokens are one of several unresolved issues in the crypto market structure bill moving through Congress. Industry insiders say that under the current bill’s provisions, the launch of such products would be delayed. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has publicly opposed the bill, calling for amendments to allow the SEC to exempt certain stock token offerings from standard securities rules.
