Contents
Same ticker, two different dealsAre tokenized stocks real shares, and what happens on a dividend day?What three months of holding actually costsWhat happens if the product goes awayWhich one fits what you want to do
Same ticker, two different deals
On some exchanges you can see the same company twice: once on the spot side — that is the part of the exchange where you simply buy a thing and keep it — and once in futures, as a contract on its price. If that split is new to you, the difference is laid out on the page about buying on spot vs trading futures. Bybit, for example, lists tokenized stocks on spot under the xStocks name and also offers stock and other traditional-market perpetuals.
The word perpetual only means the contract has no end date — it runs until you close it, and how that compares with contracts that expire is on the perpetual vs dated futures page. The token is backed by a real share held in custody; the perpetual is an agreement with the exchange about the price difference, nothing more. That one line changes almost everything else: whether you can use leverage, whether anyone can close your position for you, what it costs to hold for months, and what happens when the company pays a dividend. For the overview of all the ways to touch stocks on a crypto exchange, there is a separate page about stocks on crypto exchanges.
| Tokenized stock | Stock perpetual | |
|---|---|---|
| What you hold | A token backed by a real share held by the issuer | A contract on the price; you own no share |
| Leverage | None — you pay the full price | Yes; on Binance the newer stock perpetuals launched in October 2026 go up to 20x |
| Can it be closed without you | No, nobody closes your token | Yes — the exchange closes the trade if the price moves far enough against you |
| Cost of holding | A trading fee when you buy and when you sell | Trading fees plus funding every few hours |
| Dividends | Depends on who issued the token — read the product page | No dividend paid to you; instead there is a dividend adjustment, explained below |
| If the product ends | The issuer or the exchange announces what happens | The exchange announces a date and closes open trades |
Are tokenized stocks real shares, and what happens on a dividend day?
A tokenized stock is not the share itself. It is a token, and somebody holds a real share behind it, so you follow the price. If anything goes wrong, you deal with the company that issued the token, not with Tesla. Tesla does not know you exist, and whether a dividend reaches you, and in what form, is set by the issuer and written on the product page — read that line before you buy, because it differs from one token to another.
On the futures side nobody pays you a dividend, because you are not a shareholder of anything. Here is what that means on the day itself: when a company pays a dividend, its share price usually drops by roughly the amount of the dividend. Binance accounts for that on its stock perpetuals with what it calls a dividend adjustment, so that drop alone does not quietly take money off your position. How much it comes to for a particular contract is written in that contract's specification, so look there for the ticker you trade.
If the company does something unusual, like a split or a takeover, the exchange posts a notice about what happens to your token or your contract, so read the announcements for whichever one you hold. The easiest way to see the two side by side is to sign up on Bybit and open the spot and futures tabs for the same ticker.
What three months of holding actually costs
Say you want to follow one stock with 1,000 USDT for three months — either way you have 1,000 USDT riding on its price. With the token you pay a trading fee when you buy and again when you sell: at an illustrative 0.1% each way that is about 2 USDT in total, and then nothing while you hold. With the perpetual you pay a fee on entry and exit too, but the real cost is funding — at an illustrative 0.01% every 8 hours, a 1,000 USDT position costs about 0.3 USDT a day, so roughly 27 USDT over 90 days.
These numbers are made up to show the shape of it, not a quote — check the actual fees and the current funding rate in the app. Funding can also be negative, and then you receive it instead of paying, but it swings with the market and nobody can promise you the direction. If you plan to hold for months, the token is usually cheaper; for a trade of days or weeks the funding barely matters. How those payments work is explained on the funding page.
With leverage the loss arrives much faster. With the token, a 20% fall in the stock means a 20% fall in your money and nothing else happens. With a 10x perpetual you only put up about 100 USDT behind that same 1,000 USDT position — that money the exchange holds behind your trade is your margin. A fall of around 10% can wipe those 100 USDT out and the exchange closes the trade for you, a bit sooner once fees are counted. That is liquidation. Same ticker, completely different way to lose.
What happens if the product goes away
Both sides can end, and they end differently. A tokenized stock depends on its issuer: if the issuer stops supporting the token, or the exchange stops listing it, the announcement tells you what happens and by when. A perpetual depends on the exchange — if the exchange stops offering the contract, it announces a date and closes open trades itself, and the terms are in that announcement, so read it when one appears.
There is also a plain availability question. Tokenized stocks and traditional-market perpetuals are not offered everywhere, and some exchanges serve parts of Europe, Australia or the UK through separate local entities with different products. Check during sign-up what your account can actually trade, and see the notes on which exchanges are available in your country.
Which one fits what you want to do
If you want to hold a company for months, think the price will rise, and would rather sleep without watching how close your trade is to being closed, the tokenized version is the calmer choice: no funding, no liquidation, no leverage to tempt you. If you want to trade a move over a few days, or you want to make money when the price falls, the perpetual is the tool that does that. The step-by-step walkthrough for a stock trade lives on the Tesla, Apple and Nvidia page.
Are tokenized stocks real shares?
No. You hold a token, and somebody holds a real share behind it. You follow the price, but you are not on the shareholder register, and if something goes wrong you deal with the company that issued the token. Its terms tell you exactly what the token promises.
Do tokenized stocks pay dividends?
It depends on who issues the token, and the product page in the app says which way it is handled — read it before you buy. A stock perpetual never pays you a dividend; instead the exchange makes the dividend adjustment described above, so the usual dividend-day drop in the share price is accounted for. The amount for a given contract is in its specification.
Can I use leverage on a tokenized stock?
The token is a spot purchase at full price, so it comes with no leverage. If you want a stock position bigger than your money, that is what the perpetual contract is for, with the funding payments and the risk of the exchange closing your trade that come with it.
How far does the price have to move before a stock perpetual gets closed?
As a rough guide, divide 100 by your leverage: at 10x a move of about 10% against you eats the money you put behind the trade, at 5x about 20%. In practice it happens slightly earlier, because fees and the exchange's own minimum requirement eat into that cushion. The app shows you the exact price, and the liquidation price page explains where to find it.
Can I short a tokenized stock?
Not in the straightforward way. Buying a token only makes money if the price rises. A perpetual lets you open a short and profit when the price falls — see how making money on a falling price works.
Which is cheaper if I plan to hold for six months?
Usually the token, because you pay a fee twice and nothing in between. A perpetual charges funding every few hours for as long as the position is open, and over six months that normally adds up to far more than the entry and exit fees. Check the current rate in the app, since it changes all the time.