Binance appears to be gearing up for a renewed push into tokenized equity markets, quietly adding API endpoints that point toward perpetual futures tied to traditional stocks. The move suggests the exchange may soon re-enter a sector it briefly explored — and quickly shuttered — in 2021 following regulatory pressure.

Binance API Update Hints at Stock-Linked Perpetuals

Related reporting: Coinbase Opens Solana DEX Access as CeFi–DeFi Lines Blur

According to Binance’s Dec. 11 API changelog, the exchange introduced three new endpoints, including one referencing a “TradFi-Perps agreement contract” under a stock/contract URL path. Two additional endpoints allow users to check weekly trading schedules and view active trading sessions.

Taken together, the updates indicate that Binance is preparing to offer perpetual futures tied to traditional equities — and potentially offering them with session-based availability similar to stock markets, rather than crypto’s 24/7 model.

The exchange last attempted to offer tokenized stocks in April 2021, but halted the service just three months later after regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. Binance acknowledged receiving questions about the new endpoints but did not provide comment before publication.

Tokenized Equities Enter the Mainstream

Binance’s renewed interest follows a wave of activity around tokenized stocks and blockchain-settled securities. Coinbase is reportedly preparing to unveil its own tokenized equity and prediction-market products, while other firms across traditional and decentralized finance are exploring similar models.

But rapid innovation has brought pushback. Earlier this month, Citadel Securities urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tighten rules for DeFi platforms offering tokenized equities. The firm argued developers, smart-contract coders, and wallet providers should not receive broad exemptions from securities law, stressing that unregulated trading of tokenized stocks could create parallel regulatory regimes for identical assets.

The World Federation of Exchanges echoed the sentiment in November, noting that tokenization may be a natural evolution of capital markets but must be deployed “responsibly” to avoid harming investors or undermining market integrity.

Despite concerns, tokenized equities continue to expand across centralized and decentralized venues. Over 60 tokenized stocks launched on Solana-based platforms and major exchanges including Kraken and Bybit in mid-2025.

Some Traditional Players Embrace Tokenization

Other financial heavyweights are leaning in rather than resisting. Nasdaq has listed SEC approval for its own tokenization proposals as a top priority, seeking to enable blockchain-registered versions of exchange-listed stocks.

Reports also indicate the SEC is considering a framework that would allow crypto exchanges to list blockchain-registered equities as early as this year. The regulator reinforced that message with a recent no-action letter to a Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation subsidiary working on securities tokenization services.

As regulatory clarity advances, Binance’s recent API update signals it may be preparing to compete in what is shaping up to be one of the next major battlefields in digital finance.