Apple, MicroStrategy, and Microsoft Stock Tokens Are Coming To Binance

Binance has announced that Apple (AAPL), MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Tokens will be listed on the exchange in the coming days. 

MSTR, AAPL, and MSFT will become available on April 26, April 28, and April 30 respectively. 

This announcement follows the exchange’s listing of a Tesla Stock Token on April 12, and a Coinbase Stock Token on April 14. 

What are Binance Stock Tokens?

Binance Stock Tokens are tokenized stocks. Each Stock Token represents one ordinary share of the ordinary company stock from the public company. 

Holders of Binance Stock Tokens, per the Binance website, qualify for returns on the underlying shares themselves. 

Binance’s Stock Tokens have already garnered some attention from regulators, with European regulators seeking to establish whether or not Binance complied with securities legislation before offering its Stock Tokens. 

Regulatory uncertainty

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is one of the regulators keen to understand whether or not Binance Stock Tokens satisfy existing securities rules.

However, the FCA is not alone. Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (commonly known as BaFin) told the Financial Times that if Binance Stock Tokens are transferable, tradable, provide dividends, and are cash-settled, they represent securities.

Binance's Tesla and Coinbase Stock Tokens Attract Regulatory Scrutiny

European regulators are taking a good look at new stock tokens which track the performance of Tesla and crypto exchange Coinbase, according to a report in the Financial Times today. The tokens were launched earlier this month by rival crypto exchange Binance. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is among the regulators working with Binance to investigate whether the exchange complied with securities rules before launching its token, as per the FT.  Binance Will List Coinbase Stock Token (C...

In that case, Binance would be required to provide a prospectus for prospective Binance Stock Tokens, something that the exchange has yet to do. However, BaFin’s position is contested. Global financial services firm CM-Equity suggested that a prospectus was unnecessary as the tokens are settled in Binance’s stablecoin, BUSD.

This is not the first time Binance has been the focus of attention from regulators. 

Binance CEO: ‘I Would Bring Traditional Financial Regulations To Crypto’

The CEO and founder of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), said that regulation is not necessarily a bad thing for the crypto industry.  “If I was a regulator, the most logical thing I would do is to look at the existing regulations in the traditional financial space and bring them into crypto,” CZ said, before noting that the crypto industry is significantly different from traditional finance.  The Binance CEO also added that he was not—unlike many others in the industry—a libertar...

In the United States, the crypto exchange became the subject of a Commodity Trading Futures Commission (CTFC) probe over allegations that the company allowed US traders to use its platform. 

When Decrypt asked Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao about the CTFC probe earlier this month, he declined to comment.