CEXs Surge into TradFi with Equity Offerings Reaching $34 Billion in May
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) are expanding into traditional financial markets by offering equities, and it's no longer just a marginal Research & Development (R&D) experiment. Since entering 2026, major CEXs have been incorporating US stocks, ETFs, and even Pre-IPO assets into their trading systems.
According to CoinGecko, the monthly trading volume of equity-themed perpetual contracts on top exchanges grew from approximately $831 million in July 2025 to roughly $34 billion by May 2026, an increase of nearly 40 times in less than a year. The cumulative trading volume for equity perpetuals had already exceeded the full-year total for 2025 in just five months.
Binance, one of the major CEXs, has developed a multi-layered product system covering real stock trading, tokenized securities, stock perpetuals, and Pre-IPO derivatives. Its strategy includes breaking the same stock into multiple trading formats, allowing users to directly hold stocks, convert them into tokens, or trade with leverage through perpetual contracts.
Binance's equity perpetuals utilize USDT settlement, 24/7 trading, and an 8-hour funding structure, with select blue-chip stocks, ETFs, and commodities available. The exchange has expanded its offerings from early ones focused on US stocks and crypto-related equities to major technology stocks, semiconductors, ETFs, and Asian markets.