ABU DHABI (The Thursday Times) — Binance has launched bStocks for eligible users in the UAE, letting them trade tokens that track the prices of selected US stocks and exchange-traded funds around the clock, from as little as $5, through a structure approved in Abu Dhabi Global Market.
The world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume and registered users said the launch was part of its push to become a “financial super app”. Tarik Erk, Binance’s head for the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye, said the company was “building a financial super app designed to give users seamless access to a growing range of financial opportunities”.
Five names to start
The first bStocks track Circle Internet Group, Micron Technology, NVIDIA, Sandisk and Tesla, and trade against the USDT stablecoin. Binance said more would be added gradually, subject to approvals. When bStocks were first unveiled in June, the company said a SpaceX token was planned once SpaceX lists on Nasdaq.
Each token is issued by BTech Holdings Limited, a Binance group affiliate, and is meant to track one underlying share held with a regulated custodian, backed one for one. Stock splits and dividend-related adjustments are applied automatically. Users can trade at any hour, including when US markets are closed, and can move the tokens to compatible wallets on Binance’s BNB Chain for use in other blockchain apps.
Approved in ADGM
The tokens are classed as certificates representing financial instruments under ADGM’s Financial Services and Markets Regulations, and are offered through prospectuses approved by the free zone’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. They are not offered anywhere else as a public offer, and are not available in the United States or to US persons, having not been registered under US securities law.
The launch adds to Abu Dhabi’s push to become a hub for regulated digital-asset business, and puts US blue chips on the same app that UAE users already use for crypto trading.
Not shares
Binance’s own disclosures stress that bStocks are not stocks or shares. Holders get no dividends, voting rights or other shareholder privileges, and the products have no link to the companies whose prices they follow. The company warns of liquidity, issuer, custody and regulatory risks, says prices outside normal US trading hours may be especially volatile, and says buyers could lose everything they put in. Its wallet services, provided by Binance Barbados Limited, are not supervised by the FSRA or any other regulator.∎
