Binance has disclosed a minority stake in Alpaca as the crypto exchange expands into U.S. stock and ETF trading for eligible users outside the United States.
Summary
- Binance disclosed a minority Alpaca stake as its U.S. stock trading service expands globally.
- The Alpaca deal gives Binance order flow and lending revenue tied to user stock trades.
- Alpaca controls about 94% of tokenized U.S. stock and ETF custody, according to prior data.
Binance recently launched access to more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs through its platform. The product allows fractional share purchases from $5 and supports 24-hour trading from Monday to Friday.
The service uses Nest Trading as the introducing broker, while Alpaca Securities handles execution, clearing, settlement and custody. Binance says it does not handle or custody the securities traded through the product.
According to the disclosed terms, Binance also holds a minority stake in Alpaca. The same terms say Binance receives 50% of Alpaca’s payment for order flow fees.
The agreement also gives Binance 65% of remaining profit from user stock lending after interest is paid to users. These details add more clarity on how the exchange may earn revenue from its new stock service.
Alpaca powers stock access
Alpaca said Binance chose its infrastructure because of its API-based model, product range and ease of integration. The company also said its regulated broker-dealer setup gives Binance the tech stack needed to offer new investment products.
“At Alpaca, we’ve built a regulated brokerage infrastructure to help partners expand access to financial markets in a scalable way,” Alpaca CEO Yoshi Yokokawa said.
Binance users can fund stock purchases with stablecoins and selected crypto balances. Alpaca said USDC is the main stablecoin option, while Binance also supports BNB, USDT, USD1 and $U for eligible users.
The product does not give users tokenized shares at launch. Binance said bStocks, its planned tokenized securities product, will arrive in the coming weeks.
Tokenized stock custody draws attention
Alpaca has become a major infrastructure provider for tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs. Earlier data showed the company held about 94% market share in tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs.
That position matters as more crypto exchanges add equities, ETFs and on-chain stock products. Several platforms now rely on regulated brokers and custody firms to connect blockchain-based access with traditional securities markets.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Binance’s move follows a wider push by exchanges to become multi-asset platforms. The same trend includes tokenized stock products from rival platforms and planned on-chain equity access.
Binance says bStocks will let eligible users convert supported equity holdings into on-chain assets. The company said those assets may support lending and liquidity use cases, subject to product launch and rules.
Fee model may face scrutiny
Payment for order flow is a common brokerage revenue model, but it often draws questions over execution quality and user transparency. Binance says it may receive such payments for directing orders.
The stock lending split may also draw attention because it ties Binance revenue to securities users allow to be lent. The company says users can join fully paid securities lending from June 4, 2026.
For Binance, the Alpaca deal gives a route into traditional markets without directly holding user securities. For Alpaca, the partnership expands its reach through one of the largest crypto platforms by users and trading activity.
