Binance Study: Gen Z Prefers ETFs and Lowers Crypto Trading Frequency

Binance Research says Gen Z traders using the exchange’s ecosystem are increasingly treating exchange-traded funds as a core part of their equity exposure. In early August, ETFs made up 25% of the cohort’s equity trading volume—an increase from earlier months—while interest in single-company stocks has eased.

The findings, based on activity across direct equities, tokenized stocks and traditional finance perpetual contracts, also highlight behavioral differences between younger traders and older generations, including how often they trade, whether they place sell orders, and the extent to which they use leveraged or inverse ETF products.

Key takeaways

• According to Binance Research, ETFs accounted for 25% of Gen Z equity trading volume in early August, up from 21.9% in July and 18.5% in June.
• Gen Z direct-equity accounts increasingly skew toward buy-only behavior, with 22% never placing a sell order—compared with 19% for Gen X and 9% for Baby Boomers.
• Gen Z traded less frequently than other working-age generations across TradFi perpetuals, averaging 13 monthly trades versus 17 for Millennials and 16.5 for Gen X.
• Leveraged and inverse ETFs appear to have limited pull among Gen Z: 88.2% of Gen Z TradFi perpetual accounts recorded no activity in those products.

Gen Z tilts equity activity toward ETFs

Binance’s analysis focused on how different generations allocate trading activity across three equity-related categories: direct equities, tokenized stocks, and traditional finance perpetuals. It compared account behavior across Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers using metrics such as trading frequency, net flows and leverage use.

Within that framework, ETFs gained share among Gen Z. In July, ETFs represented 21.9% of Gen Z net equity inflows. That compares with 18.5% in June, suggesting an accelerating preference for fund-based exposure rather than a rotation toward individual companies. Over the same period, the portion of Gen Z inflows allocated to individual stocks declined to 74.2% from 77%.

Binance Research did not frame this as a single-driver story, but the pattern is notable for traders deciding where to deploy capital: ETFs can offer diversified exposure, while direct equity allocation depends more heavily on idiosyncratic company performance.

Trading frequency and sell-order behavior differ by age

The report also points to structural differences in how Gen Z participates compared with older cohorts. Binance Research said Gen Z traded less frequently across all three equity products. For TradFi perpetuals, Gen Z averaged 13 monthly trades, compared with 17 for Millennials and 16.5 for Gen X.

Account behavior provides another window into how Gen Z approaches positioning. Among Gen Z direct-equity accounts, 22% had never placed a sell order. The share was lower for older groups—19% for Gen X and just 9% for Baby Boomers—while Millennials showed the highest level of buy-only behavior at 30%.

For Gen Z buy-only accounts, Binance reported that the most purchased assets by cumulative buying included Broadcom, Tesla and the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF. The inclusion of a dividend-focused ETF among top cumulative buys aligns with the broader trend toward fund exposure rather than single-stock selection.

Binance also noted a key limitation for interpreting longer-term trends: its direct-equities offering only reached “meaningful scale” in June, leaving a comparatively short window to observe multi-month behavior changes.

Low use of leveraged and inverse ETF products

Beyond what Gen Z is buying, the report examines what it is avoiding—particularly in more complex ETF structures. Binance Research said Gen Z showed relatively little appetite for leveraged and inverse ETFs within TradFi perpetuals. Specifically, 88.2% of Gen Z TradFi perpetual accounts recorded no activity in leveraged or inverse ETFs.

For context, the no-activity shares were 84.5% for Millennials and 85.9% for Gen X, meaning Gen Z’s participation in these higher-risk product types appears modest relative to other cohorts. For traders, that matters because leveraged and inverse exposure can amplify volatility and risk management complexity, affecting how portfolios behave during market stress.

While the report does not provide breakdowns on whether the remaining Gen Z accounts used these products heavily or lightly, the headline takeaway is clear: for most Gen Z participants, ETF exposure—at least within these categories—has been largely non-leveraged.

Tokenized stocks: bStocks briefly overtake xStocks

Separately from the Gen Z cohort analysis, tokenized equities market data suggests shifting competitive dynamics among issuers. Binance’s bStocks briefly overtook Kraken’s xStocks as the second-largest tokenized stock issuer this week, according to Token Terminal data cited in the source.

As of Tuesday, bStocks held $610.6 million in tokenized stock value, compared with $601.2 million for xStocks. By Friday, the positions reversed: Token Terminal showed xStocks at $610.7 million and bStocks at $579.6 million. The report described these levels as about 22.3% and 21.2% of the roughly $2.7 billion tokenized stock market, respectively. Ondo Finance remained the largest issuer with $971.8 million.

Looking at the market as a whole, the source also pointed to continued expansion in distributed value tracked by RWA.xyz, which reported $2.43 billion in distributed value as of Friday—about 5% higher than over the previous 30 days. For investors, the issuer “leadership” flip between bStocks and xStocks underlines how quickly tokenized-stock balances can shift as flows move across platforms and products, even while the top issuer maintains its position.

That fast-moving ranking is also a reminder that tokenized equities remain a developing segment: total market growth is measurable, but individual issuers can move up or down quickly as their tokenized exposure rises and falls.

Going forward, traders should watch whether Gen Z’s ETF share continues to rise beyond the current early post-scale window for Binance direct equities, and whether the limited leveraged/inverse activity persists as more participants enter. In parallel, the tokenized-stock rankings may remain fluid—so changes in issuer balances could be as important as the broader market growth trend.