Binance US Stock Trading First Look: Simple Operations, But Not “Zero Commission”

After a weekend of anticipation, Binance's US stock product has finally arrived. Within the Binance app, virtually all US stocks can now be traded.

Binance isn't just testing the waters with a few tokenized blue-chip stocks this time. Instead, it has opened access to over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs in one go, positioning this as part of what co-CEO Richard Teng calls a "multi-asset financial super app." As he explained to Fortune, US stocks account for more than half of the global stock market, but overseas users face high costs and significant friction to buy them. Binance aims to eliminate this barrier.

Our editor conducted a complete test order using NVDA to experience this product from start to finish.

Product Test: What's the User Experience of Binance's US Stock Product Like?

Opening the "Settings" page of the Binance App, the first step was to confirm the version: v3.15.0, the latest version. The language was already switched to Traditional Chinese. A precondition previously reported by the community was verified here: Chinese users must switch their language from Simplified Chinese to Traditional Chinese (or another language) to participate in US stock trading. Simplified Chinese is the only language excluded.

Switching to the "Markets" page, a "Traditional Finance" tab appeared at the top, alongside "Cryptocurrency" and "Alpha." Below this, there are three sub-sections: Stocks, Spot, and USDT-Margined Perpetuals. The Stocks section is further filtered into "US Stocks" and "ETFs."

Scrolling through the list, the first assets you see aren't Apple or Tesla, but rather obscure small-cap stocks like ZCMD (market cap ~$46.76 million), SVC (~$23.31 million), and WOK (~$18.15 million) – names that even seasoned US stock investors might not recognize. NOK also carries an ADR label. This demonstrates that the coverage of 7,000 stocks isn't just about featuring a few blue chips; it genuinely extends to small-cap and even ADR levels.

However, the experience could be improved if there were filtering and sorting options to display mainstream large-cap stocks like Nvidia and Intel more prominently.

Being able to offer 7,000 US stock trading pairs is possible because Binance isn't following the tokenization route of minting assets on-chain. Instead, it uses a real brokerage channel, so the available assets aren't limited by the issuer's minting progress. Comparing the scale horizontally: Kraken's xStocks covers over 60 blue chips, its underlying issuer Backed Finance currently offers about 100 assets and aims to reach over 500 by year-end, and Robinhood's tokenized coverage in the EU is about 200 companies. While others mint and list one asset at a time, Binance has effectively connected to the entire US stock market's shelf.

Entering the NVDA detail page. The quote is $216.209, marked as "Pre-market," up 1.83% in pre-market trading, with a previous close down 0.79%. The K-line chart supports timeframes from 1 week to 5 years, similar to mainstream brokerage apps.

Scrolling down reveals a "Key Data" panel: Volume 4.1946 million shares, Open $213.05, Average Volume 156 million shares, 52-Week High $236.54, Low $135.40, Market Cap $5.11 trillion, P/E Ratio 32.04, EPS $6.59, Dividend Yield 0.02%, Free Cash Flow $119.076 billion. The data granularity is on par with Webull or Robinhood. Further down, there is a "Corporate Actions" section, indicating a cash dividend on June 4th.

The "Related News" area aggregates content from third-party sources like Benzinga, The Motley Fool, and Investing.com. At the very bottom is a company profile. The overall information architecture is sufficient for stock market beginners, but it lacks in-depth data like financial statements, analyst ratings, and institutional holdings. It falls short compared to Bloomberg or Tonghuashun. For Binance's target users, it might be enough. But for heavy stock traders, the information density and professionalism may still be lacking.

Next, we proceed to place an order.

Clicking "Buy," I enter 100 USDT. The system automatically converts: 100 USDT is first exchanged for approximately 99.88 USDC at a rate of 1 USDT ≈ 0.998859 USDC, then used to buy roughly 0.4545 shares of NVDA at the market price (best ask price of $218.97), with a trade value of 99.53 USDC and an estimated fee of 0.35 USDC.

There is an unavoidable intermediate step here: regardless of whether you pay with USDT or BNB, all funds are first converted to USDC, which is then used to settle the stock purchase. The conversion fee between USDC and USD is 0 (the spread is borne by Binance). However, the conversion from other currencies like USDT or BNB to USDC is "subject to market spreads." This means using USDC directly is the lowest cost path, while using USDT or BNB incurs an additional exchange loss.

Currently, there are only two order types: Market Order and Limit Order. The order time-in-force is "Day." The payment source is "Funding Account + Spot," indicating the system automatically draws from both wallets for the balance.

After clicking preview, a "Securities Trading Disclaimer and Data Sharing" document pops up. The core clause, written in formal language, states one key thing: Nest Trading Limited acts as the introducing broker, transmitting orders to Alpaca Securities LLC for execution, clearing, settlement, and custody. Binance does not handle or custody your securities. Two checkboxes are mandatory: accept the securities trading product terms and agree to share personal information with Alpaca Securities LLC.

The fee details popup clearly state: Commission 0 USDC, Platform Fee 0.35 USDC, Spread 0 USDC, Total 0.35 USDC. Three points below are worth noting: First, Binance does not charge a commission, but the order is subject to platform fees or spreads. Second, BNB fee discounts are currently not supported. Third, regulatory fees (CAT, TAF, SEC fees) may be charged in the future.

The fee page breaks down the structure further: Trading Spread 0.10%, minimum $0.35 per trade; fractional shares apply the same rate, minimum investment $1; account opening, maintenance, inactivity, and custody fees are all $0. For regulatory fees, the SEC trading fee (seller side only) is borne by Binance, with the user paying $0.

So, the term "zero commission" should be understood as follows: the commission is indeed zero, but the platform fee of 0.10% (minimum $0.35) is a hard cost, and the exchange spread for non-USDC currencies is a soft cost. Using the example of buying NVDA with 100 USDT, the platform fee of 0.35 USDC against a trade value of 99.53 USDC results in an effective fee rate of about 0.35%. This figure isn't low compared to traditional brokers (Robinhood and Webull are both zero), but it's not high compared to crypto trading platforms (the base spot trading fee is 0.10%). The temporary unavailability of the BNB discount represents a clear expectation gap, especially considering that BNB can be used to offset fees for almost all other products within Binance's ecosystem.

Another factor with a greater impact for long-term holders: the dividend processing fee is $0, but the default US tax withholding is 30% of the gross dividend, deducted before crediting the account. This is the standard withholding tax rate for non-resident aliens in the US, not a Binance charge. It means you only receive 70% of the declared dividend. For NVDA, with a dividend yield of only 0.02%, the impact is negligible. However, if buying high-dividend ETFs, this 30% withholding cannot be ignored.

It's important to note that a market order placed during pre-market hours will not execute immediately. It will be filled at the best available price when the market opens.

While 24-hour trading from Monday to Friday is available, liquidity is extremely thin outside core hours, and market orders may face significant slippage. The disclaimer also clarifies this: "Securities are subject to high market and liquidity risks and price volatility, especially outside traditional market trading hours."

For crypto users, 24/7 trading is the norm. However, liquidity in the stock market cannot be replicated simply by extending trading hours. Market maker quotes, institutional participation, and order flow density are concentrated in the window between 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM ET. The significance of 24-hour trading is more about the ability to "place orders anytime" rather than being able to "execute orders at a reasonable price anytime."

Securities Lending: Another Major Feature from Binance

Having experienced the trading aspect, let's delve deeper into Binance's US stock product.

For a crypto trading platform to successfully run a US stock business, the buy button on the front end is just the lightest layer. The real weight lies in the three pillars of matching, custody, and lending. In this approach, Binance has strictly confined its role to the front-end entry point, delegating the backend functions to two entities.

The first is Nest Trading Limited. The disclaimer identifies it as an "introducing broker," which might sound like an external partner, but investigation reveals it is a Binance-owned company. In December 2025, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) approved licenses for three Binance entities: Nest Exchange Limited (trading platform business: spot and derivatives), Nest Clearing and Custody Limited (clearing, settlement, and digital asset custody), and Nest Trading Limited (formerly BCI Limited, holding a broker-dealer license for OTC trading, exchange services, and other non-trading platform activities). In other words, Nest Trading is not a third party Binance found; it's Binance's licensed arm under the ADGM framework, specifically responsible for business that does not go through the trading platform's matching engine. Referring US stock orders is an extension of this type of "OTC" business.

The second entity is Alpaca Securities LLC. This is a true independent third party. Headquartered in New York, Alpaca is a self-clearing, licensed securities broker-dealer, registered with FINRA and protected by SIPC (up to $500,000 per customer account). It is also a clearing member of DTCC, FICC, and OCC. However, it's not a retail-facing brokerage but a B2B infrastructure provider for fintech companies. Its core product is the Broker API, allowing partners to embed stock, options, fixed income, and crypto trading into their own apps. To date, Alpaca's API serves over 200 fintech clients in more than 40 countries, supporting over 10 million brokerage accounts. Early partners include Gotrade and Midas. Binance is the largest crypto platform it has onboarded.

Another noteworthy update is the launch of securities lending on June 4th.

Fully Paid Securities Lending (FPSL) allows users to lend their fully paid, eligible stocks to market participants (typically institutions needing to short, arbitrage, or make markets) and earn interest income.

FPSL is a deeply mature business in traditional finance. Charles Schwab's securities lending program splits proceeds 50/50, with a minimum asset threshold of $100,000. Fidelity requires a minimum account balance of $25,000. Interactive Brokers' Stock Yield Enhancement Program also offers a 50% split with a $25,000 threshold. Robinhood launched its own securities lending program in 2022 with the lowest barriers and daily interest payments. The global securities lending market contributes nearly $10 billion annually.

In the crypto trading platform space, Kraken was the pioneer. It launched FPSL for its US stock business in 2025, allowing eligible users to lend their fully held stocks and earn interest. This was also a key hook for Kraken to attract users to transfer their stock positions from other brokers via ACATS. Alpaca itself launched FPSL for its Broker API partners in May 2025, so Binance's securities lending feature likely directly reuses Alpaca's underlying capabilities.

For Binance, the significance of FPSL goes beyond just adding another feature. It's a crucial step in shifting users from "buy and hold" to "buy and earn yield." It also serves as a prelude to potentially integrating stocks into DeFi lending protocols once future bStocks are tokenized. First, build the lending functionality within the traditional brokerage framework; then, migrate the same logic on-chain. This path is coherent.

Beyond Binance: The Same Race Across Trading Platforms

Zooming out, Binance's move is not isolated. Since early 2026, the race track has become crowded.

Coinbase, OKX, Kraken, and Bybit all announced or launched tokenized stock trading in early 2026. The market cap of tokenized stocks surged from $32 million to nearly $1 billion in less than a year.

Coinbase is pursuing the "everything exchange" route. In early 2026, it launched traditional stock and ETF trading for users across the US, featuring zero commissions, 24/5 trading, and fractional shares starting at $1, backed by a marketing partnership with Yahoo Finance. Its target is clearly Robinhood. However, in fine print, it deliberately excluded tokenized equities from its licensed broker-dealer and main operating company entities, leaving a regulatory question mark.

Robinhood is the initiator of this tokenization narrative. In June 2025, CEO Vlad Tenev outlined a three-step plan at an event called "To Catch a Token." First, launch tokenized stocks in the EU, covering over 200 US companies, with the core philosophy being a seamless user experience with tokenization operating in the background. The underlying technology is its proprietary blockchain, an Ethereum L2 based on Arbitrum Orbit, dedicated to real-world asset tokenization, with a full launch planned for 2026.

Kraken emphasizes DeFi integration and self-custody. Its xStocks allows investors to withdraw 1:1 backed equity tokens to their private wallets for use as collateral. It settles via Solana and Ethereum, covers over 60 blue chips, and has partnered with Nasdaq. On the capital side, Deutsche Boerse made a strategic investment of $200 million in April.

OKX also secured significant leverage. In March 2026, ICE, the parent company of the NYSE, announced a $25 billion strategic investment in OKX, centered around a "unified matching engine" that places NYSE-associated tokenized equities at its core. This marks the first time a traditional exchange operator has invested in a top-tier crypto platform for this purpose, securing a board seat.

The remaining players are also active.

Coinbase and Bybit are exploring collaborations on the tokenization, custody, and distribution of US public and pre-IPO stocks. Bitget partnered with Ondo Finance to list over 100 tokenized US stocks, with spot volumes exceeding $1 billion in January 2026. In terms of underlying issuance engines, Backed Finance covers about 100 underlying assets, aiming to reach over 500 by the end of 2026, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $25 billion by March this year. On-chain, the volume of tokenized stock derivatives hit a single-day record of $3.57 billion on May 18th, primarily driven by Binance and Hyperliquid.

It's worth noting that this isn