Backpack opens on-chain IPO stock purchase rights through the tokenization model

Backpack, a crypto exchange founded by former FTX employees, is planning to implement on-chain access to IPO share allocations through a tokenized stock model.

According to founder and CEO Armani Ferrante, Backpack is partnering with crypto technology platform Superstate to “become a stop in the company’s roadshow” during the initial public offering (IPO) process.

Typically, before an IPO, the founding team and management conduct a roadshow to share growth stories and attract institutional investors on Wall Street to buy shares before the stock officially lists. For most retail investors, access to IPO shares usually only comes after trading begins on exchanges through brokerage firms. Backpack aims to change this process by providing early access rights directly on blockchain infrastructure.

This move comes amid a surge in asset tokenization. Major crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase are also expanding into the stock market, competing directly with tech-friendly brokerage platforms like Robinhood.

Backpack’s waitlist opened on Wednesday. According to their website, users will be able to purchase official IPO shares with “real and direct ownership on Solana,” implying that shares are issued as native tokens on the blockchain.

Superstate, a company founded by Robert Leshner, creator of the Compound protocol, operates a transfer agent registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through the Opening Bell platform. This model allows for asset tokenization by issuing legally compliant shares as native tokens on both Solana and Ethereum, while recording ownership on an official shareholder registry to ensure rights and voting power are tracked.

Ferrante also admits there is a “condition” for accessing the roadshow: the level of activity and the value users bring to the ecosystem will determine whether Backpack can become an attractive fundraising channel for issuing companies.

In 2024, Backpack raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Placeholder VC and other prominent investors, including Leshner’s Robot Ventures. Last month, Axios reported that the company was negotiating to raise an additional $50 million at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion.

Meanwhile, the startup is also considering issuing exchange-traded tokens in a way that avoids “dumping on retail investors,” by combining early IPO access rights with allocating a portion to the company’s treasury after the IPO.