[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has signalled it will launch a new product related to stock investing, drawing attention to the possibility of an expansion in the tokenised stock market. The market is also seeing speculation that Binance could be preparing a broader stock tokenisation service than before.

CoinPost, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Sunday (local time) that Binance posted a message on May 29 on its official X account hinting at a new investment product.

The post included an image using the English word “Haystack,” meaning a pile of hay. Community members interpreted it as an implied message meant to be read as “Hay Stock,” raising the possibility of a new service related to stock investing.

Sorivido, a cryptocurrency research account, estimated based on its analysis of source code related to Binance that it could be a combined format involving spot trading with Ondo Finance and Binance’s own stock token service, BStocks. Binance has not disclosed the specific product structure or launch plans so far.

Market participants are paying attention because Binance already has experience entering the tokenised stock market. In February, Binance began supporting Ondo Finance’s tokenised securities products through Binance Alpha, a real-world asset (RWA) trading platform. The service allows users outside some regions, including the United States, to trade tokens linked to shares of major U.S. companies such as Nvidia and Apple.

However, the number of supported stocks is limited. It is also offered not in the exchange’s general spot market but in a separate Binance Wallet environment, making its scope of use relatively limited as well.

The industry is focusing on the possibility that, if the new product is launched, the number of supported stocks could expand or accessibility could improve compared with the existing service.

The market is also making guesses about the custody and settlement structure. Some analysts have raised the possibility of a model in which U.S. broker-dealer Alpaca handles actual share custody and settlement, while Binance provides tokenised trading infrastructure. This, too, is not officially confirmed.

Binance’s move also aligns with the trend in the rapidly growing tokenised stock market. Market research firm The Block said tokenised stock derivatives trading volume hit a record high of $3.57 billion as of May 18. The expansion in trading was analysed as being led by Binance and on-chain derivatives exchange Hyperliquid.

Competition in the tokenised stock market is also intensifying. xStocks, run by Swiss-based digital asset platform Backed Finance, started with about 60 stocks at its 2025 launch but has now expanded to about 100. The company aims to support more than 500 stocks by the end of 2026.

xStocks’ cumulative trading volume is also rising quickly. As of March, cumulative trading topped $25 billion, according to compiled figures. Backed Finance co-founder Val Gui (발 구이) said, “The next step is to offer all major U.S. stocks,” adding, “In the long term, the goal is to expand the scope to major global stock markets.” He also said tokenised stocks are approaching a point where they move beyond an innovative experimental stage and become a true financial infrastructure.

The industry sees Binance’s next move as potentially meaning more than a simple new product launch. That is because it could be a test of how aggressively a crypto exchange will integrate tokenised securities into its core services. In particular, if more stocks and access routes are provided beyond the limited structure of Binance Alpha, it is expected to have a significant impact on growth in the tokenised stock market.