Binance Research: Crypto Could Unlock 300M Equity Investors by 2031

TLDR:

• Binance Research projects crypto exchanges will channel $2T and 300M investors into equities by 2031.
• Over 93% of Binance stock trading users come from emerging markets facing traditional brokerage barriers.
• Stablecoins cut cross-border off-ramp costs by an average of 3.6% and roughly $40 per transaction.
• AI themes captured over 70% of total fund inflows on Binance, reflecting strong early adopter awareness.

Tokenized equities and stablecoin-settled stock trading are reshaping global market access. Binance Research projects that crypto exchanges could channel US$2T in capital and 300 million new investors into global equity markets by 2031.

The report maps structural demand from emerging markets, where brokerage barriers and geographic restrictions have historically locked out most retail investors. Stablecoins are emerging as the settlement layer of choice for 24/7 equity exposure.

Emerging Markets Drive Demand for Global Equity Access

Close to 93% of Binance stock trading users originate from emerging markets. This signals deep structural demand that traditional brokerages have largely failed to serve.

Geography, brokerage requirements, and currency barriers have kept participation rates below 20% across most non-US markets.

In contrast, roughly 62% of Americans hold equities through direct ownership or retirement accounts. Meanwhile, US equities account for approximately half of total global equity market capitalization.

Foreign investors hold only around 18% of that market, creating a sharp asymmetry in capital allocation globally.

Fractionalization is a key enabler in this context. Stocks like SNDK and MU reached share prices of US$1,716 and US$1,064 respectively in 2026.

The average worker across Africa and Southern Asia earns below US$300 per month, making single-share ownership effectively out of reach without fractionalization.

Crypto exchanges functioning as financial super-apps remove the friction between holding capital and deploying it.

A portfolio with just 5% allocated to Bitcoin delivered 82% cumulative returns between 2020 and 2026, compared to 60% without. The Sharpe ratio also improved from 0.52 to 0.63 over that period.

Stablecoins and Tokenized Equities Reshape Market Infrastructure

Stablecoins eliminate an average 3.6% and roughly US$40 per transaction in off-ramp costs for cross-border users.

They also remove the need to route funds through local banks before reaching separate brokerage accounts. This positions stablecoins as a practical settlement layer for continuous equity exposure.

TradFi-linked perpetuals have grown from a negligible base to approximately 10% of total stablecoin trading volume. Direct stock trading is expected to deepen this further.

The integration of spot equities on the same platform as derivatives also simplifies funding rate arbitrage execution considerably.

Tokenization adds another layer of utility that traditional equity structures cannot replicate. Staked tokenized shares reduce circulating supply, requiring custodians to purchase equivalent underlying shares.

According to the Inelastic Markets Hypothesis, the realistic market value uplift for a large-cap equity sits at an estimated US$0.30 to US$1 per US$1 locked.

Semiconductors and equipment captured roughly one-third of total fund inflows on Binance’s platform, generating 3.3 times the trading volume of the next sector.

AI-related themes captured over 70% of total fund inflows, reflecting strong financial awareness among early adopters on the platform.