Backpack taps Superstate for IPO roadshow tokenization offering, opens waitlist

Backpack, the crypto exchange founded by former FTX employees, plans to roll out onchain access to IPO share allocations using tokenized equities.

The exchange startup is working with crypto tech platform Superstate "to become a stop on the roadshow" during a company’s initial public offering process, Backpack founder and CEO Armani Ferrante said Wednesday.

"Normally when companies go public, the founders and executives go on a roadshow, sharing their story and garnering interest from Wall Street institutional buyers purchasing shares before they go public," Ferrante wrote in an X post. "For most, you normally have to wait for the stock exchanges to go live before getting access to these shares through your brokerage."

Backpack’s announcement comes amid a tokenization spree, with some of the leading crypto exchanges — including Binance and Coinbase — moving into equities markets as they position themselves against other web-savvy brokers like Robinhood.

Backpack's waitlist opened on Wednesday. According to the Backpack website, users will be able to purchase official IPO shares with "real, direct ownership on Solana."

Superstate, founded by Compound creator Robert Leshner, operates an SEC-registered transfer agent via its Opening Bell platform to natively tokenize assets by issuing actual legal shares directly as native tokens on Solana and Ethereum. Opening Bell also records token ownership on an official shareholder registry to track stock ownership and rights.

Ferrante noted there’s a “catch” to gaining roadshow access: "The more active and valuable our users, the more viable Backpack is a venue for capital formation."

Backpack raised $17 million in Series A funding in 2024, with backing from lead investor Placeholder VC and other notable VCs, including Leshner’s Robot Ventures. Last month, Axios reported the firm is in talks to raise $50 million in fresh financing at a $1 billion pre-money valuation.

The startup is looking to launch an exchange token without "dumping on retail" by offering pre-IPO access as well as an allocation for a "post-IPO" company treasury.