Gen Z Leads Shift from Meme Coins to TradFi on Binance

Binance Research shows Gen Z investors are ditching meme coins for NVIDIA and TradFi assets, maintaining the lowest leverage use across all age groups.

Data from Binance Research reveals that a new wave of users is increasingly seeking exposure to traditional financial assets rather than speculative crypto tokens. Notably, leverage usage among this demographic remains the lowest across all age groups.

Gen Z Dominates New User Demographics

According to the analysis, the share of Generation Z among newly registered users for traditional financial products on Binance rose from 41% in January to 47% by July. On average, this group accounted for approximately 44% of all new clients throughout the year.

In tandem with this growth, the trading volume for this demographic reached $80 billion, recording a 24% increase in the last month alone.

While the average capital per investor remains lower compared to older generations, the sheer scale of participants and their consistent activity have established Gen Z as a primary driver of trading on the platform.

NVIDIA Outpaces Meme Coins

One of the most significant shifts identified is the choice of initial investment.

Instead of high-risk meme coins, 20% of all first trades made by Gen Z users were linked to NVIDIA, making it the most preferred starting asset.

Binance suggests this demonstrates a growing interest in companies tied to artificial intelligence and the technology sector, moving away from short-term speculative opportunities.

Lowest Leverage Usage

Although Gen Z is often associated with a higher risk appetite, the data indicates the opposite trend is emerging.

Only 5.9% of the trading volume from young investors involved the use of leverage—the lowest proportion among all generations.

Binance Research notes that this suggests new investors increasingly prefer gradual exposure accumulation over aggressive, high-risk short-term trading.

Tokenized Stocks Gain Momentum

The report also highlights strong growth in the trading of tokenized stocks and ETF derivatives.

Just months after launching these products, Binance already commands roughly 74% of the TradFi perpetual ETF market, with a total trading volume of approximately $116 billion.

Most transactions remain small in scale. Approximately 93% of all operations with tokenized stocks are fractional, with an average transaction size of just $18.81.

This fractional model allows investors to gain exposure to major companies like NVIDIA, Meta, and Alphabet with minimal initial capital.

Emerging Markets Drive the New Trend

Roughly 80% of tokenized stock trading originates from emerging markets, where access to U.S. capital markets is often restricted.

Binance Research observes that crypto infrastructure is steadily becoming an alternative channel for investing in traditional financial assets, particularly for younger investors.

Simultaneously, the Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization sector has reached approximately $31.7 billion in on-chain assets. Binance analysts estimate that with broader institutional and individual adoption, the market could grow to roughly $661 billion—a potential increase of over 60 times current levels.

The data suggests that Gen Z is gradually changing the perception of the crypto market, shifting it from an environment dominated by short-term speculation toward a platform providing access to a broader spectrum of traditional financial assets.