Check out the BitPinas Token 2049 Coverage Here
More than 40% of tokenized U.S. equity trades on Binance take place outside standard Wall Street market hours, as international investors turn to round-the-clock digital asset rails to trade them, according to Binance Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng.
Speaking at a panel discussion in Token2049 Singapore, Teng said the trading pattern reflects sustained global demand from overseas market participants seeking continuous access to major equities without the time-zone constraints imposed by traditional market infrastructure.
Binance, which currently counts more than 330 million global users, lists roughly 7,000 U.S. stocks, 1,000 of which are available in a tokenized format.
Demand Driven by Global Access and Hedging
Traditional U.S. stock exchanges operate roughly six and a half to eight hours a day, leaving investors exposed to market-moving news during overnight hours, weekends and holidays. Teng noted that on-chain tokenization enables investors in different regions to react to corporate earnings, macroeconomic developments and geopolitical events instantaneously. (Read More: Navigate Web3 Safely – Binance’s guide to protecting digital assets for Beginners)
“For the U.S. stocks that we trade on a tokenized basis, close to more than 40 plus percent of the trading take place outside of U.S. trading hours,” Teng said. “News flow keep coming through. People may not want to stay in Asia time zone throughout the night to trade U.S. counters, so they are trading during that day. They are taking positions. They are hedging their positions.”
Teng pointed out that traditional institutions face structural obstacles when attempting to offer continuous trading. While Nasdaq has announced plans to extend trading to a 23-hour schedule five days a week starting Dec. 6, existing clearing arrangements and relationships with broker-dealers prevent legacy platforms from providing true 24-hour, seven-day settlement. (Read More: Binance Intelligence Launches AI Product Stack to Automate Trading Strategies and Market Analysis)
“Many traditional institutions face those challenges, which is how they are set up in the past or because of all those structure that put in place,” Teng said.
Expansion Into Pre-IPO Equities
Beyond public stocks, Binance has expanded into pre-initial public offering contracts for high-profile private companies, including SpaceX and Anthropic.
The market has historically suffered from restricted access, leaving early startup employees and venture investors with limited liquidity mechanisms before an official public listing. While secondary trading platforms exist, Teng said retail and international demand for pre-IPO price discovery has expanded significantly due to broader global brand awareness. (Read More: [Coinfest Asia] Ex-Central Banker Turned Binance Exec Explains Why Crypto Can’t Just Move Fast and Break Things in Asia)
However, private market tokenization faces operational hurdles, particularly information asymmetry.
“Price discovery is taking place, although sometimes without full information,” Teng said. “I think that that’s the key challenge for some of these private markets. How do you make sure there’s better information flow from the company? Some of these companies are a bit hesitant about having their stocks being traded, but there are huge demand for all these products out there.”
Legislative Push and Institutional Capital
Teng noted that regulatory clarity remains the critical determinant for institutional adoption and sustained product innovation.
While mass retail drove early cryptocurrency adoption due to low-cost transfers and 24/7 settlement compared to the two to three days required by traditional banking rails, Teng said the passage of U.S. stablecoin legislation under the Genius Act catalyzed substantial institutional entry and payment provider integration.
He added that comprehensive market structure rules, such as the proposed Clarity Act, are necessary to prevent regulatory reversal and encourage parallel adoption in key overseas jurisdictions, including Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea. (Read More: CZ in PH: Binance Founder Says Filipinos Should Pay Less to Send Money Home)
“Once U.S. put its mind and resources to something, the rest are forced to say, ‘Hey, I need to react to maintain my competitive edge,’” Teng said. “So actually I do hope to see the Clarity Act coming to place as well, because it’s only with that that you don’t reverse the course of progression firstly, and then secondly, you have the rest of the world saying that hey guys, it’s time to get serious.”
This article is published on BitPinas: Token2049: Over 40% of Binance’s US Stock Trading Happens While Wall Street Is Asleep
What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond:
