Backpack Securities launches tokenized equities as Solana RWA volume hits 97%

Backpack Securities launched a platform combining traditional stock trading with tokenized equities on Solana, the exchange said June 2.

"Real stock ownership and blockchain-native access are not competing models, but two parts of the same financial system," Armani Ferrante, chief executive officer at Backpack, said.

The platform lets users buy, hold and sell actual U.S. stocks through regulated brokerage and custody infrastructure, with shareholder rights including cash dividends and corporate actions. Through a partnership with Sunrise, a Solana-based tokenization protocol, users can convert holdings into on-chain securities transferable on Solana, with plans to expand to other blockchains. Backpack Securities' brokerage service will roll out in phases starting this month.

The launch positions Backpack in a rapidly expanding market where daily trading volume across tokenized stocks and ETFs has climbed to $1.68 billion, up 39% over the past month, according to rwa.xyz data. Solana captured 97% of cumulative tokenized equities spot trading volume this week, with over 200,000 onchain tokenized stock holders.

Backpack began in late 2023 as a Solana wallet project launched by the team behind the Mad Lads nonfungible token collection. Co-founders include Ferrante, a former Solana developer and early Alameda Research employee, and Can Sun, former FTX general counsel. The exchange previously reviewed a plan to allocate 37.5% of its total 1 billion exchange-token supply to the company's treasury.

The exchange joins a wave of crypto platforms expanding into equities. Binance opened access to more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs on June 1, offering zero-commission trades to non-U.S. customers. Coinbase integrated Yahoo Finance tickers into its platform, while Kraken launched regulated tokenized equity perpetual futures through its xStocks framework. Robinhood also introduced tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum.

Monthly transfer volume across tokenized stocks and ETFs reached $3.63 billion, up 36%, with holders rising 31% to 292,590, rwa.xyz data shows. The tokenized equity market's growth reflects a broader convergence between crypto infrastructure and traditional capital markets, with Solana emerging as the dominant settlement layer for onchain securities.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.