Crypto Exchanges Blur Lines with Traditional Brokerages on Direct US Stock Access

The lines between traditional brokerage accounts and crypto exchanges are blurring as several major platforms now offer direct access to U.S. stocks alongside tokenized versions of those same equities.

Bitget, Kraken, Binance, Crypto.com, and Gemini all provide both direct stock ownership and tokenized equity products at the platform level, although availability can differ significantly by jurisdiction.

Direct U.S. stocks represent actual securities or beneficial ownership through brokerage infrastructure, while stock tokens are blockchain-based representations linked to underlying equities. Notably, a 1:1 backing does not automatically mean identical ownership rights, as tokenized equities may offer different dividend treatment, voting rights, custody arrangements, or redemption terms.

Bitget stands out for combining access to more than 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs with over 600 rTokens, including major USDT markets such as rAAPL/USDT, rNVDA/USDT, and rTSLA/USDT. Trading pairs and token structures differ by exchange, with some platforms using crypto-style markets like token/USDT or token/USD, while others present tokenized equities through conversion or app-based trading.