Binance takes a step toward stock markets with Tesla share perpetuals

The news appeared on the company’s official website.

For users, it’s a way to trade a familiar stock ticker inside crypto rails. For Binance, it’s a test run toward institution-style formats, where clear rules and controlled risk matter.

This isn’t Binance’s first attempt to get closer to equities. In spring 2021, the platform launched “stock tokens,” with Tesla also serving as the first underlying asset. Back then, Binance pitched exposure to stock moves with a low entry threshold and the ability to buy fractional amounts. The minimum trade started at roughly 0.01 share, settlement ran in the BUSD stablecoin via the TSLA/BUSD pair, and access depended on jurisdiction and KYC level. The setup involved Germany’s CM-Equity AG and Switzerland’s Digital Assets AG. Regulators reacted quickly. The U.K.’s FCA stepped in and opened an inquiry, and Germany’s BaFin said it suspected potential violations of securities laws. On July 16, 2021, Binance announced it would fully wind down the product line.

Market sentiment has shifted since then. By industry estimates, the market cap of tokenized stocks has topped $1 billion and has grown more than 50x over the past year. The New York Stock Exchange has talked about plans to seek approval to issue securities in token form, offer around-the-clock trading, and speed up settlement, including the option to fund accounts with stablecoins. In 2025, Nasdaq approached the SEC with a filing intended to open access for investors to trade tokenized versions of stocks.

Against that backdrop, a TSLA perpetual looks like a compromise. A derivative is generally easier to fit into regulatory frameworks, and it avoids messy questions around dividends, shareholder voting, and custody.

Added context comes from public comments by co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who ruled out returning to day-to-day operations and emphasized the growth of institutional infrastructure. If demand for the Tesla perpetual proves strong, it’s reasonable to assume Binance could expand the lineup of stock-linked tickers and move even closer to markets dominated by institutional standards.