Binance, the global blockchain ecosystem and operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and registered users, has announced the launch of its bStocks service for eligible users in the UAE, marking another step towards transforming the platform into a financial super app.

The launch expands Binance’s ecosystem beyond digital assets, allowing eligible users to access selected US equities on the same platform through tokenised securities.

Binance said bStocks was designed to bridge traditional financial services and blockchain technology, offering users a more flexible way to diversify their portfolios.

Binance users in the UAE already had access to a range of financial services, including cryptocurrency trading and yield-earning products. The addition of bStocks forms part of the company’s plan to bring various financial opportunities into a single ecosystem and make it easier to manage different asset classes on one platform.

bStocks are tokenised securities designed to track the prices of selected US stocks and exchange-traded funds. The products are issued by BTech Holdings Limited, an affiliate of Binance Group, and each bStock is designed to track the price of a corresponding share held by a regulated custodian.

However, bStocks do not represent direct ownership of the underlying shares, and their prices are not guaranteed to precisely reflect the real-time market value of the underlying assets at all times.

According to Binance, eligible users can begin trading with as little as $5. The service also enables round-the-clock trading seven days a week, including outside regular stock market hours. Binance has warned, however, that prices may be more volatile outside official market hours and that trading during these periods carries additional risks.

Users can also transfer supported bStocks to wallets compatible with BNB Chain and use some of them in compatible blockchain applications. The service provides access to both digital assets and tokenised US equities through a single platform.

Corporate actions, including stock splits and dividend-related adjustments, are applied automatically in line with the product’s structure, meaning users do not need to take manual action to maintain their level of exposure to the asset.

At launch, eligible users will have access to tokenised securities linked to shares in Circle Internet Group under the CRCLB/USDT trading pair, Micron Technology under MUB/USDT, NVIDIA under NVDAB/USDT, Sandisk under SNDKB/USDT and Tesla under TSLAB/USDT.

Binance said additional bStocks are already available on the platform, with further products to be introduced gradually, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

Tarek Erk, Binance’s Regional Head of the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said: “At Binance, we are building more than a cryptocurrency platform. Our goal is to create a financial super app that provides users with seamless access to an expanding range of financial opportunities through a trusted ecosystem.”

He added that the launch of bStocks in the UAE marked another significant step in that direction, and that bringing tokenised US equities onto blockchain infrastructure could make access to the US stock market more flexible and better aligned with how today’s digital users manage their finances.