Why Gen Z Investors are Buying ETFs and Holding Stocks on Binance

Key Insights:

• Gen Z investors lifted ETFs to 25% of their equity volume on Binance in early August.
• The group averaged 13 monthly TradFi perpetual trades, below older generations.
• About 22% of Gen Z direct-equity accounts have never placed a sell order.

Gen Z investors are directing more of their equity trading activity toward exchange-traded funds on Binance. ETFs represented 25% of the group’s equity volume in early August 2026, up from 14.6% in June.

The shift also appears in net capital flows. Unleveraged ETFs captured 21.9% of Gen Z net equity inflows in July, compared with 18.5% in June. Meanwhile, individual stocks accounted for 74.2%, down from 77%.

Binance Research published the findings on August 12 after reviewing activity across several age groups.

The analysis covered direct equities, tokenized stocks, and traditional finance perpetual contracts. Research author Lim Kim Thye cautioned that two mon