In its latest report, Binance Research suggests that cryptocurrency exchanges could channel up to $2 trillion in capital and bring 300 million new investors to global equity markets by 2031. The study highlights that trading tokenized stocks and transactions via stablecoins are especially important in regions where traditional brokerage access remains limited.
Access challenges rise in emerging markets
The report reveals that over 93% of users trading stocks on Binance come from emerging markets. This underscores pent-up demand from individual investors who have long been excluded from traditional financial systems due to geographic restrictions, brokerage requirements, and currency barriers.
Outside the United States, stock ownership rates remain below 20% in many markets, in stark contrast to the nearly 62% of Americans who hold stocks directly or through retirement accounts. While U.S. stocks account for about half of global equity market value, foreign investors make up only 18% of participants in this market.
According to Binance Research, as many as 300 million potential equity investors could emerge from developing regions, joining the market via crypto exchanges and transacting in stablecoins.
Fractional investing is another key theme highlighted in the report. As of 2026, the price per share of SNDK reached $1,716 and MU reached $1,064, while average monthly income in Africa and South Asia hovers below $300. This disparity underscores how investment in fractional shares, rather than whole units, could significantly broaden market participation.
Stablecoins gain ground in trading infrastructure
The report also finds that stablecoins reduce cross-border transaction costs by an average of 3.6%, or roughly $40 per transaction. By eliminating the need to first transfer funds to local banks and then to separate brokerage accounts, stablecoins streamline the investing process, making round-the-clock stock access both practical and efficient.
Glossary: A tokenized stock is a digital version of a traditional share on the blockchain. Settlement via stablecoins refers to using relatively price-stable digital assets to complete payments after trades.
The same report notes that the share of perpetual products linked with traditional finance now accounts for around 10% of stablecoin trading volume, up from minimal levels. By offering both spot equity trades and derivative products on a single platform, investors can more readily capitalize on pricing differences across markets.
AI-driven themes lead fund inflows
Binance Research also emphasizes that tokenization unlocks additional use cases not available in traditional equity structures. For example, locking up tokenized shares can reduce circulating supply, which encourages custodians to hold equivalent amounts of physical stocks. The report estimates that in line with the Inelastic Markets Hypothesis, every dollar locked in large-cap equities could boost market value by $0.30 to $1.
Sector analysis further reveals that semiconductor and equipment companies now account for roughly one third of total fund inflows on Binance. The trading volume in this sector is 3.3 times higher than the next closest segment. Meanwhile, AI-linked themes have attracted more than 70% of overall fund flows in recent periods.
The report also demonstrates that allocating just 5% of a portfolio to Bitcoin between 2020 and 2026 would have increased cumulative returns from 60% to 82%, with the Sharpe ratio rising from 0.52 to 0.63. These figures underscore how the convergence of crypto assets and traditional financial instruments on a single platform can further influence investor behavior.
