Crypto exchange Backpack said it is adding SEC-registered US stocks to its trading platform with Superstate, the blockchain finance startup led by Compound founder Robert Leshner.
Announced Wednesday, the deal embeds Superstate’s Opening Bell platform into Backpack, allowing non-US users to trade tokenized shares of public companies on the chain.
With the addition, Backpack claimed the bragging rights of being the first centralized crypto exchange to list issuer-backed, SEC-registered shares on the chain. Supported stocks and rollout date will be announced in the coming weeks, the companies said.
These offerings are not synthetic or packaged derivatives, the firms said, but real shares issued under U.S. securities laws with the same CUSIP identifiers as their traditional counterparts on the Nasdaq or NYSE.
“For traders, this means more assets to buy, sell and use as collateral – with better margin opportunities than traditional markets,” Robert Leshner said in a statement. “For issuers, it extends reach to millions of crypto-native investors and connects them directly to modern capital markets infrastructure.”
The move comes as tokenization of financial instruments, such as shares, bonds and funds, is gaining momentum across crypto markets. A wide range of tokenized equity offerings debuted over the past few months, including Robinhood, Gemini, Ondo Finance’s Global Markets and xStocks by Kraken and Backed Finance, which created tokenized versions of the largest listed companies and ETFs.
Superstate’s Opening Bell focuses on creating tokenized versions of listed shares by working through a registered transfer agent. The platform brings the structure of the US capital markets onto blockchain rails and offers direct ownership and future access to DeFi tools.
Founded by crypto developer Armani Ferrante, Backpack is best known for its role in the Solana ecosystem and for acquiring the European arm of imploded crypto exchange FTX. It has since grown into a broader financial platform. It launched a centralized exchange in 2023 with a virtual asset service provider license in Dubai, while last month it opened its EU-focused derivatives hub based in Cyprus and regulated under the MiFID II framework.
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