When you buy US stocks on Bitget, Binance or Bybit, you usually aren't buying the stock. Stock perpetuals give you no ownership and no dividends, and stock tokens (Bitget rTokens, Bybit xStocks, Binance bStocks) give you economic exposure without voting rights. A broker such as Futu or Interactive Brokers holds real shares in your account and pays dividends (30% US tax withheld by default for non-US persons). Buying and later selling 10 NVDA shares worth $2,000 costs about $2 at Bitget (rTokens), Binance Stocks or IBKR Fixed, about $3.98 at Futu and about $8 at Bybit xStocks; holding the same exposure as a perpetual for a year could cost close to 190 USDT in funding (checked 2026-10-29).
Data as of 29 October 2026, from the official pages of each exchange and broker, linked under every table. US market times are Eastern Time (ET); UTC+8 conversions are noted where given.
The short answer
- To own the shares and collect dividends long term: use a broker (Futu, Interactive Brokers) or Binance's US stock trading (real shares cleared and held by Alpaca).
- If you already hold USDT, want small sizes or weekend trading: stock tokens. Bitget rTokens currently charge 0.05% on spot; Bybit xStocks charge 0.20% for regular users.
- For short-term trades, leverage or shorting: stock perpetuals. The trading fee earns a rebate, but the longer you hold, the more likely funding costs more than the fees.
- Exchange stock tokens and stock perpetuals are not covered by broker schemes such as SIPC; you rely on the issuer's custody structure and on the exchange itself.
Four ways to buy US stocks, side by side
| Item | Stock perpetuals (Bitget, Binance, Bybit and others) | Stock tokens (rToken, xStocks, bStocks) | Binance US stock trading | Traditional broker (Futu, IBKR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you hold | A derivative settled on price differences; no ownership | The issuer holds the shares; the token gives you economic exposure, no voting rights | Real shares; Binance states you are eligible for dividends and corporate actions | Real shares in your brokerage account |
| Dividends | None | rToken: paid in USDT after tax; xStocks: no cash, multiplier adjusted; bStocks: adjusted automatically | Yes, 30% US tax withheld by default | Yes, 30% by default, possibly lower under a tax treaty |
| Trading hours | 24/7, all year | rToken 24/5 (about 90 also 24/7); xStocks and bStocks 24/7 | Select stocks 24/5 | 9:30 to 16:00 ET plus pre-market and after-hours; some brokers add overnight sessions |
| Fees (regular user) | Maker 0.02%, taker 0.05% to 0.06% | Bitget 0.05%; Bybit 0.20% | 0.10% spread; 0.05% on orders of $340+ until end-2026 | Futu $0.0049 + $0.005 per share, each with a minimum; IBKR $0.005 per share, $1 minimum |
| Leverage | Binance up to 10x; Bitget up to 100x on some large caps | None | None | None in a cash account; margin is separate |
| Funding the account | USDT | USDT | Mainly USDC; BNB, USDT and others accepted | USD or other fiat |
| Fee Otter rebate | Yes, as a futures fee | Not stated officially; check your rebate records | Not stated officially | Not applicable |
Sources (checked 2026-10-29): Bitget stock futures FAQ, Binance stock perpetuals guide, Bitget rToken FAQ, Bybit xStocks FAQ (updated 2026-10-23), Binance bStocks launch release (2026-06-12), Binance US stocks fee page, Futu Securities (Hong Kong) fees, IBKR commissions.
The three stock products on exchanges
Stock perpetuals: no shares, only price differences
Bitget's FAQ puts it plainly: stock perps are "derivatives with no ownership rights, settled based on price differences, and denominated in USDT", so there are no dividends either. Binance's guide also says the contracts track the share price without you owning the stock. You get 24/7 trading, shorting and leverage: up to 10x on Binance stock perpetuals, up to 100x on Bitget's TSLA and NVDA.
What you pay is funding: perpetuals settle a funding rate every 8 hours (capped at ±2.00% on Binance), and every position open at a settlement pays or receives it. For fees, listings and measured funding rates across exchanges, see tokenized stock fee comparison; for Bybit's gold, forex and stock perpetuals, see Bybit TradFi fees.
Stock tokens: rToken vs xStocks vs bStocks
Stock tokens are spot assets with no leverage: an issuer buys the shares and mints tokens against them. Each exchange works with a different issuer under different rules:
| Item | Bitget rToken | Bybit xStocks | Binance bStocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Reality (a platform strategically backed by Bitget), launched 2026-06-02 | Backed (launched xStocks in May 2025) | BTech Holdings Limited (a Binance group affiliate) |
| Share custody | Alpaca Securities, a licensed US broker; shares registered under an independent, bankruptcy-remote SPV | A regulated, independent custodian | A regulated custodian, 1:1 backing |
| Rights | Economic exposure, not a registered shareholder, no voting rights | No voting rights, no dividend entitlement, no claim on the shares if the company is liquidated | The release says bStocks are not shares and holders do not directly own a share |
| Dividends | 30% US tax withheld by default, credited separately in USDT | No cash; reflected through the multiplier | Splits and dividend adjustments processed automatically |
| Trading hours | 24/5 (ET); about 90 also trade on weekends and holidays | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Regular-user fee | 0.05% maker and taker (50% off promotion, end date not set) | 0.20% maker and taker | 0 maker fee on the first pairs for a limited time |
| Other limits | On regular US trading days every order is charged the taker rate | Holding cap 300,000 USDT per token; no redemption on Bybit | First pairs: CRCLB, MUB, NVDAB, SNDKB, TSLAB |
Sources (checked 2026-10-29): Bitget rToken FAQ, Bitget stock spot guide, Bitget rToken fee announcement (2026-08-06), Bitget promotion extension (2026-09-01), Bybit xStocks FAQ, Binance bStocks release. The release does not list bStocks added after the first batch or the standard trading fee; check the Binance trading page.
The three tokens handle dividends in completely different ways: rTokens pay you cash in USDT, while xStocks pay no cash and adjust how many shares each token represents. If you want dividend cash, that matters more than the fee.
Binance US stock trading: real shares inside the exchange
On 1 June 2026 Binance opened more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs to eligible non-US users, with fractional shares from $5. Here you hold actual shares: Alpaca Securities clears and holds them (Binance's fee page says Alpaca is a FINRA and SIPC member), and Binance states that users own the shares, including eligibility for dividends and corporate actions.
Fees per the Binance US stocks fee page (checked 2026-10-29): a standard spread of 0.10%, cut to 0.05% on orders of $340 or more until 2026-12-31; a VIP fee table takes effect on 2026-11-06, from 0.05% at VIP 1 with a $0.17 minimum per order. Binance absorbs SEC and FINRA fees, and dividends have 30% US tax withheld by default. Note that moving shares out is DTC only, at $150 per security per submission; ACATS is not supported.
Traditional brokers: Futu and Interactive Brokers
A broker buys real shares that pay dividends and can be transferred to another broker. Fees from the two brokers' official pages (checked 2026-10-29):
- Futu Securities (Hong Kong): US stock commission $0.0049 per share, minimum $0.99 per order; platform fee (fixed plan) $0.005 per share, minimum $1 per order. Regulatory fees on sales are not listed in that section of the page.
- IBKR Pro Fixed: $0.005 per share, minimum $1 and maximum 1% of trade value per order; the Tiered plan is $0.0005 to $0.0035 per share with a $0.35 minimum.
Opening an account takes an ID document and proof of address, and non-US persons are asked for Form W-8BEN (the IRS certificate of foreign status), which sets how much tax is withheld from dividends. The IRS says most US-source income paid to a foreign person is taxed at 30%, and a treaty with your country of residence may lower that.
On hours, the NYSE core session runs 9:30 to 16:00 ET, which is 21:30 to 04:00 UTC+8 during US daylight saving time and 22:30 to 05:00 UTC+8 from 1 November 2026. Pre-market and after-hours trading depend on the broker; some brokers offer an overnight session for a limited list of stocks, shown in their app.
Investor protection: the biggest difference
| Route | What protects you | What is not covered |
|---|---|---|
| US broker (e.g. IBKR's IB LLC) | SIPC up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 for cash | SIPC does not cover a fall in value, or crypto assets that are not securities |
| Hong Kong broker | Investor Compensation Fund up to HK$500,000 per claimant | The SFC FAQ describes coverage as HKEX-traded products and Stock Connect A-shares and does not mention US stocks; ask your broker which entity holds your US shares and what protection applies |
| Binance US stock trading | The custodian, Alpaca, is a SIPC member | Binance's page does not say whether, or up to what amount, your account is covered by SIPC |
| Stock tokens | The issuer's custody and reserve structure (The Network Firm publishes daily proof of reserves for rTokens) | No SIPC or compensation fund; the risk sits with the issuer, the custodian and the exchange |
| Stock perpetuals | The exchange's own risk reserves and assets | No securities protection at all, and no shares behind the contract |
Sources (checked 2026-10-29): What SIPC protects, SFC investor compensation FAQ, Binance US stocks fee page, Bitget rToken FAQ. For exchange reserves, see proof of reserves comparison; for the legal entities behind each exchange, see crypto exchange legal entities.
The protection gap matters more the more you hold. With a few hundred dollars to try things out, the protection gap matters little and cost and convenience come first; if you plan to hold tens of thousands long term, keep it somewhere with securities protection that lets you transfer the shares out.
Worked example: $2,000 of NVDA (10 shares), held for a year
Our own calculation: buy 10 shares worth $2,000, sell a year later, trading costs only, no FX or spread.
| Route | Buy | Sell | Round trip | Other cost of holding a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBKR Fixed | $1.00 (minimum) | $1.00 | $2.00 | None |
| Binance Stocks (0.05% promo) | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 | None; $4.00 at the 0.10% standard rate after the promotion |
| Bitget rToken (0.05%) | 1.00 USDT | 1.00 USDT | 2.00 USDT | None; promotion end date not set |
| Futu Securities (Hong Kong) | $1.99 (0.99 + 1.00) | $1.99 | $3.98 | Regulatory fees on the sale extra |
| Bybit xStocks (0.20%) | 4.00 USDT | 4.00 USDT | 8.00 USDT | None |
| Bitget NVDA perpetual, 1x long | 1.20 USDT (taker 0.06%) | 1.20 USDT | 2.40 USDT, 1.20 USDT after the 50% rebate | About 190 USDT in funding |
The funding figure uses the average of Binance's last 500 NVDA perpetual settlements, +0.0087% per 8 hours (see tokenized stock fee comparison): 1,095 settlements a year, 2,000 × 0.0087% × 1,095 ≈ 190 USDT. The real rate changes at every settlement and can be higher, lower or negative. A year of funding comes to about 95 times the broker's round-trip fee; perpetuals suit short trades, not long holds.
Adding dividends: say the 10 shares pay $100 gross over the year. A broker, Binance Stocks and rTokens leave you about $70 after the default 30% withholding (rTokens credit it in USDT); xStocks pay no cash and adjust the multiplier instead; a perpetual pays nothing.
Fee rebates: only on the exchange side
Rebates are a share of the trading fees an exchange charges. Broker commissions are outside them, and so is funding. Stock perpetual fees count toward the rebate like any futures fee; for spot stock-token fees, the exchanges' referral pages don't say either way, so check your rebate records after the first trade.
- Bitget: 50% (20% automatic rebate + 30% extra rebate), code FEEOTTER.
- Binance: 40% (20% automatic rebate + 20% extra rebate), code FEEOTTER.
- Bybit: 40%, all paid by Fee Otter; an account within 14 days of sign-up and without a referrer can add Fee Otter's affiliate ID 163627, see add a Bybit affiliate code.
With 200,000 USDT a month of stock perpetual volume, all taker, Bitget charges 120 USDT in fees and pays back 60 USDT (24 automatic + 36 extra), for a net cost of 60 USDT. Fee Otter settles the extra rebate daily and pays it on request as on-chain USDT on BEP20, minimum 1 USDT per request, with the 0.015 USDT network fee paid by the user. Rates and examples per exchange: Bitget rebate, Binance rebate, Bybit rebate.
Telegram · @feeotter
