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Five years ago, Binance tried tokenized stocks and failed. The exchange listed Tesla, Coinbase, and a handful of other U.S. equities in April 2021, only to shut the service months later after the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority and Germany's BaFin raised questions about securities classification and cross-border compliance.
Now it's back — but the structure is entirely different.
What Was Approved
On March 3, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) cleared ten tokenized securities issued by Ondo Global Markets for trading on Binance's FSRA-regulated Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). The approved products include tokenized versions of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Meta, Circle, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and the Invesco QQQ ETF.
This is the first time ADGM has admitted tokenized securities for trading under its regulatory framework.
How the Tokens Work
Ondo does not issue direct token equivalents of shares. Instead, the platform structures its products as equity-linked notes tied to the underlying stocks. Each token tracks the price of its reference asset, but the legal claim is on the note, not on the equity itself. This distinction allows Ondo to operate within existing securities regulations without requiring each token to be classified as a direct share.
The tokens trade on Ethereum under tickers like AAPLon, TSLAon, NVDAon, and QQQon. Eligible users in supported jurisdictions — excluding the United States — can access them through Binance's regulated MTF.
Why This Time Is Different
Binance's 2021 attempt had no regulatory cover. The exchange offered tokenized stocks through a third-party issuer (CM-Equity AG in Germany), and the products were pulled within months under pressure from multiple regulators.
The 2026 version operates through a licensed venue under direct FSRA supervision. Binance's MTF in ADGM is a regulated trading facility, and Ondo Global Markets went through a formal admission process. The difference is not cosmetic — it's structural.
Ondo itself has accumulated regulatory clearances in multiple jurisdictions. In November 2025, Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority approved Ondo's Base Prospectus, enabling passporting across all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein — 30 markets total. The ADGM approval adds the Gulf to the map.
The Numbers
Since launching Ondo Global Markets in September 2025, the platform has processed more than $11 billion in cumulative trading volume and attracted over $550 million in total value locked. The product range has expanded well beyond the initial ten assets — Ondo has listed over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Ethereum, with BNB Chain and Solana support to follow.
These are not small numbers for a market that barely existed 18 months ago.
What This Means for Tokenized Securities
The ADGM approval is a signal, not just for Ondo and Binance, but for the tokenized securities market as a whole. Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as one of the most crypto-forward jurisdictions in the Middle East, and the decision to admit tokenized equities on a regulated exchange creates a template that other Gulf regulators may follow.
For institutional players watching from the sidelines, the message is clear: tokenized securities now have a regulated home in the Gulf, with real liquidity and real oversight. The question is no longer whether traditional equities will move on-chain — it's how fast the regulatory infrastructure can keep up with the demand.
