decrypt.co
Crypto exchange Binance plans to list a tokenized version of crypto exchange Coinbase's stock once it goes public later today. This will let users buy and sell fractions of a share, if they so wish.
Coinbase is set to go public via a direct listing on the Nasdaq, in what’s been described as a “watershed moment” for crypto. Nasdaq has given the stock, which will trade under the ticker COIN, a reference stock price of $250—providing a valuation of around $64 million.
What are Binance stock tokens?
Binance’s tokenized stocks are tokens backed by the underlying stock. A German investment firm looks after the stock on behalf of Binance. Because they are bought and sold as tokens, they can be divided and fractions can be sold.
If the tokens produce dividends, they will be divided among the token holders. Binance users can trade the stocks during traditional exchange hours—unlike cryptocurrencies, which are traded 24/7.
The exchange only started listing tokenized stocks on Monday. The first stock available was Tesla, which blew up in value throughout 2020.
Broke: @binance has stocks, FTX's are dead.
Woke: Binance only has 1 stock, only 33 hours/week, no futures, and 3rd parties can't create with CM-E
Bespoke: This is just their beta. Only by competing and challenging each other to do better can we push the industry forward.
— SBF (@SBF_Alameda) April 12, 2021
Binance’s move into tokenized stocks follows the success of its rival exchange FTX, which offers a wider range of tokenized stocks including Tesla, MicroStrategy, PayPal, and Amazon.
On Monday, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried commented on Binance’s recent addition of tokenized stocks, stating, “This is just their beta. Only by competing and challenging each other to do better can we push the industry forward.”