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Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, predicted on Sept. 8 that IPOs will eventually move on-chain, as Binance’s bStocks tokenized equity product surpassed $30 billion in cumulative trading volume about three months after its June launch. The product is backed one-to-one by U.S. equities and trades around the clock, with $1.5 billion in volume occurring outside conventional U.S. market hours. The forecast comes as the SEC proposed transfer-agent rule changes on Sept. 1 to account for blockchain in securities offerings and share transfers. Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald are building on-chain IPO infrastructure within existing securities rules, while Ondo Finance has expanded tokenized equities across multiple blockchains. Zhao offered no timeline or named issuer, but the market and regulatory backdrop gives his prediction concrete momentum.
Key Elements
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, has made a bold prediction about the future of capital markets: initial public offerings will eventually migrate to blockchain infrastructure. The forecast, posted on X on Monday, Sept. 8, comes as tokenized equity trading volumes surge and U.S. regulators begin updating rules to accommodate blockchain-based securities.
“IPOs will move on chain,” Zhao wrote in a brief post that offered no timeline, no named issuer, and no additional detail. Yet the timing was hardly accidental. Binance’s bStocks product, launched in June, has surpassed $30 billion in cumulative trading volume in roughly three months The tokenized securities are backed one-to-one by actual U.S. equities and can be traded around the clock by eligible users
The growth trajectory has been steep. By late July, bStocks had already reached $8.7 billion in total volume, with $7.4 billion of that occurring in July alone. Binance also disclosed that $1.5 billion in bStocks trades took place outside conventional U.S. market hours, underscoring demand for after-hours access to equity price exposure.
bStocks do not confer direct share ownership or shareholder rights, Binance has made clear. Instead, they provide exposure to the price performance of underlying stocks. Still, the product represents one of the most visible examples of how traditional financial assets are being represented on blockchain rails.
Regulatory Landscape Shifts
Zhao’s prediction landed in a regulatory environment that is itself evolving. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed changes to transfer-agent rules on Sept. 1 that would explicitly account for blockchain technology in securities offerings, ownership records, and share transfers. The proposal aims to modernize rules that have not seen substantive overhaul in decades, while keeping transfer agents within the existing federal securities framework.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the proposal is designed to reflect current operational realities, including blockchain use in securities transactions. It does not, he emphasized, eliminate securities-law requirements.
This regulatory movement signals that blockchain infrastructure may be integrated into traditional finance as part of the existing system rather than operating entirely outside it.
Infrastructure Builders Emerge
Binance is not alone in pursuing tokenized equities. Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald announced a partnership in July aimed at enabling public companies to conduct IPOs and follow-on offerings using blockchain infrastructure while operating within established capital-markets rules.
Securitize subsequently provided a working demonstration by listing on the New York Stock Exchange and offering issuer-sponsored tokenized shares on Solana and Avalanche to eligible U.S. investors. Those shares remained regulated securities, a distinction the company emphasized.
Ondo Finance has also expanded tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs across multiple blockchains, including BNB Chain and Solana. Binance, meanwhile, moved further into the space in August by allowing third-party-issued eligible tokenized securities to be deposited and converted into bStocks.
The competitive landscape suggests that tokenized equities are transitioning from experimental pilots to commercial-scale platforms. During 2026, the sector has seen infrastructure mature at a pace that did not exist at comparable scale a year earlier, giving Zhao’s forecast a concrete market backdrop.
What On-Chain IPOs Could Change
A traditional IPO involves a company working with investment banks, exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing systems to bring shares to public markets. A blockchain-based approach could streamline portions of that process, potentially enabling faster settlement, broader cross-border access, and extended trading hours.
Supporters argue that on-chain securities could widen investor access and shorten settlement times. However, eligibility and legal rights still depend on each product’s specific structure, and direct ownership of shares remains a key distinction from tokenized exposure products like bStocks.
Binance also offers pre-IPO perpetual contracts that allow users to take positions on a company’s valuation before its shares begin trading publicly. Those contracts, the company has noted, are not IPOs themselves.
Whether full IPOs migrate entirely to blockchain remains an open question. Zhao’s statement is, by his own framing, a prediction rather than an announcement. But the infrastructure is being built, products are trading with real users, and regulators are beginning to codify how blockchain fits into securities markets.
| Milestone | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| bStocks launch | June 2026 | Tokenized securities backed 1:1 by U.S. equities |
| Securitize-Cantor partnership | July 2026 | On-chain IPO infrastructure within existing rules |
| Securitize NYSE listing | July 2026 | Issuer-sponsored tokenized shares on Solana and Avalanche |
| bStocks volume reaches $8.7B | July 29, 2026 | $7.4B in July alone; $1.5B outside U.S. market hours |
| SEC transfer-agent proposal | Sept. 1, 2026 | Rules updated to account for blockchain securities |
| bStocks cumulative volume tops $30B | Sept. 8, 2026 | Approximately three months after launch |
Note: Figures reflect cumulative trading volume bStocks provide price exposure, not direct share ownership
Market Implications
The acceleration of tokenized equity products carries implications for exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing infrastructure. If blockchain-based securities gain broader regulatory acceptance, traditional intermediaries could face pressure to adapt their service models, while crypto platforms may capture a larger share of equity-adjacent trading activity.
For investors, the emergence of 24-hour tokenized equity markets could reshape expectations around liquidity and access. The $1.5 billion in off-hours bStocks trading reported by Binance suggests meaningful demand exists for equity exposure beyond conventional exchange sessions.
Still, the path from tokenized exposure products to fully on-chain IPOs involves substantial legal and operational hurdles. Direct share ownership, shareholder voting rights, and corporate governance mechanisms must be addressed before companies can realistically consider blockchain-native public offerings at scale.
Zhao’s one-sentence prediction may prove prescient or premature. What is clear is that the boundary between traditional capital markets and blockchain infrastructure is becoming increasingly porous, and the infrastructure to support on-chain IPOs is no longer theoretical.
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Source: finance.biggo.com