Backpack CEO plans to bring 10,000 tokenized stocks to Solana

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante has laid out a plan to expand tokenized stock access on Solana from about 200 symbols to 10,000, with shares moving between brokerage accounts and decentralized finance through one API.

According to a post shared by Solana on Sep. 26, Ferrante wants to make the full stock market available through a system that connects conventional securities accounts with DeFi applications.

“Not 10 stocks, not 100 stocks. We want to bring the entire stock market to Solana,” Ferrante said in the clip shared by Solana.

He described a single API through which a real share could move from a brokerage account into DeFi and back. Ferrante called the move from 200 to 10,000 symbols “the next leap,” though the post did not identify a launch date or set out which stocks would be added first.

The 200-symbol figure comes from Ferrante’s description of the starting point. The post does not establish that Backpack Securities has already issued 200 separate tokenized stocks on Solana, so the proposed expansion should not be read as a count of tokens currently in circulation.

How Backpack moves stocks onto Solana

Backpack introduced its securities platform in June, saying customers could hold U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds through a brokerage service and convert eligible holdings into tokenized securities. Depositing a supported token through Backpack Exchange converts it back into a traditional security entitlement, according to the company.

The company says its brokerage holdings are security entitlements governed by New York’s Uniform Commercial Code Article 8. Backpack also says the service supports cash dividends, corporate actions and transfers involving established brokerage infrastructure, including ACATS and Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation systems.

On Solana, Backpack-issued tokens can be held in compatible wallets and transferred between users. The company says they can also be used in DeFi applications, subject to the features and rules of the particular product and service.

A June report on SPCX covered Backpack Securities’ first tokenized SpaceX product, issued with Sunrise on Solana. Backpack said eligible holders could convert the token into the corresponding share through its brokerage route, while Sunrise provided infrastructure for issuing and distributing the token.

Backpack subsequently added tokenized versions of other U.S.-listed companies. In July, crypto.news covered its continuous trading for a group of equities available to users outside the United States, including products tied to SpaceX, Micron and SanDisk. The company said users could redeem supported Solana tokens one-for-one for the corresponding shares through its platform.

The conversion process is also described in Backpack’s Sep. 23 CoreWeave announcement. A customer can withdraw a CoreWeave holding from Backpack Exchange as a CRWV token on Solana, then deposit the token to convert it back into a brokerage holding, the company said. Backpack identified decentralized exchanges, wallets and other Solana applications where the token could be accessed.

What ownership rights Backpack describes

Backpack draws a distinction between a brokerage holding and its tokenized form, even when it says the two can be converted one-for-one. In its Micron product description, the company says brokerage holders receive cash dividends and corporate actions through traditional securities infrastructure.

For holders of its tokenized Micron security, Backpack says dividend payments are reinvested into additional tokens. It says applicable corporate actions are handled through proportional changes to token balances intended to preserve the economic value of the underlying holding.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has warned that tokenized securities created by third parties do not all give holders the same rights. In a January staff statement, the agency said the rights attached to a token depend on its structure and may differ from those attached to the underlying security. The statement also distinguished tokens backed by securities held through custody arrangements from synthetic products that create different claims.

For American readers, those differences matter when comparing stock tokens with conventional brokerage positions. Backpack’s descriptions of redemption, dividends and corporate actions apply to its stated product structure; they should not be assumed to apply to every token carrying a familiar stock ticker.

Where U.S. tokenized stock rules stand

On Sep. 17, the SEC granted conditional relief for certain venues to trade tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. The five-year framework places limits on the number of symbols and trading volume a qualifying venue may handle.

Under the SEC’s published conditions, a venue must verify that a tokenized stock gives its holder the same rights and privileges as the equivalent traditional share. When an unaffiliated third party tokenizes a company’s stock, the venue must notify the issuer and give it an opportunity to object.

The SEC also requires public, auditable smart contracts and a halt in token trading whenever the underlying stock is halted on its primary exchange. The agency’s announcement does not identify Backpack as a participating venue or state that its current products operate under the exemption.

Backpack’s U.S. plans have involved a separate corporate step as well. In September, the company’s U.S. arm appointed Kyle Samani to its board. Backpack said the former Multicoin Capital executive would support its work across regulated U.S. financial services and onchain markets; the appointment did not include a timetable for expanding its U.S. stock or tokenized asset services.