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

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante announced plans on September 26, 2026, to expand tokenized stock access on Solana from 200 to 10,000 symbols, aiming to bring the entire stock market on-chain. The system uses a single API to bridge traditional brokerage accounts and decentralized finance. This expansion follows the SEC's September 17, 2026, conditional five-year relief for trading tokenized National Market System stocks, which imposes strict compliance rules on participating venues.

Proposed 10,000-symbol expansion plan

• ▪Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante did not specify a rollout date or identify which specific stocks would be added first in the proposed 10,000-symbol expansion plan for tokenized stocks on Solana
• ▪Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante announced a plan on September 26, 2026, to expand tokenized stock access on Solana from approximately 200 symbols to 10,000 symbols.

Backpack's tokenization mechanism

• ▪Backpack users can deposit supported Solana tokens through Backpack Exchange to convert them back into traditional security entitlements governed by New York's Uniform Commercial Code Article 8.
• ▪Backpack Securities, launched in June 2026, allows eligible users to hold U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and convert those holdings into tokenized securities on Solana.
• ▪Backpack's proposed system utilizes a single application programming interface (API) to allow real shares to move back and forth between traditional brokerage accounts and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Dividends and corporate actions

• ▪For holders of Backpack's tokenized Micron security, dividend payments are automatically reinvested into additional tokens rather than distributed as cash.
• ▪Backpack handles corporate actions for tokenized securities through proportional changes to token balances to preserve the economic value of the underlying holding.
• ▪Backpack draws a distinction between traditional brokerage holdings and their tokenized forms, stating that brokerage holders receive cash dividends and corporate actions through traditional securities infrastructure.

SEC regulatory stance

• ▪The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned in a January 2026 staff statement that third-party tokenized securities may not grant holders the same rights as the underlying traditional securities.
• ▪The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's September 17, 2026, five-year conditional relief allows trading tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers, requiring venues to verify share rights and notify issuers of third-party tokenization.

Debatable claims

• ▪Regulators should require tokenized stocks to provide identical rights to traditional shares
• ▪Tokenizing the stock market on public blockchains poses unacceptable risks to investor protection
• ▪Decentralized platforms lack the necessary infrastructure to safely manage traditional stock trading