BNB Chain’s Thomas Chen says tokenization is still in the first inning

Binance’s tokenized stock platform, bStocks, reached about $1 billion in total value locked in roughly three months. BNB Chain’s Thomas Chen still thinks the industry has barely started. Speaking at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, Chen described tokenization as sitting at the “bottom of the first inning.” His main argument was less about the milestone and more about what follows it. Chen said tokenized assets will succeed through distribution and real utility, not through speculative trading. A fast start for bStocks bStocks is Binance’s platform for tokenized US equities and ETFs. It launched on June 11, 2026. Within approximately three to four months, the product had gathered around $1 billion in assets under management. That pace reportedly outran comparable product launches in the market. The catalog grew quickly too. bStocks started with five listed assets and had expanded to nearly 100 by mid-October. Assets under management by mid-October were estimated at between $1 billion and $1.2 billion. Against a total tokenized equities market valued at $3-4 billion, that works out to an estimated 37-42% market share. Cumulative trading volume on bStocks passed $40 billion, with meaningful tr...