Backpack Launches SEC-Registered Tokenized Shares amid Liquidation Controversy – Crypto News

Backpack, a centralized crypto exchange (CEX) and self-custody wallet app founded by former FTX and Alameda employees, has partnered with Robert Leshner’s fintech firm Superstate to let users trade on-chain versions of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered stocks.

According to a press release shared with The Defiant, the collaboration integrates Superstate’s Opening Bell platform into Backpack, allowing eligible non-U.S. users to buy, sell, and margin trade tokenized versions of real stocks — not synthetic alternatives, the release specifies — while retaining the same dividend rights and voting privileges as shares listed on stock exchanges.

Backpack has yet to reveal which tokenized stocks will be available at launch, saying that more details will come in the next few weeks.

As The Defiant reported earlier, the broader market of tokenized equities remains largely dominated by synthetic issuers, including offerings from fintech giant Robinhood and U.S. CEX Kraken. Animoca Brands estimates that Backed Finance, which is Kraken’s partner for their tokenized stock offering, and Ondo Finance account for 95% of the tokenized stock market, mostly through Ethereum-based synthetic products tied to major U.S. tech shares and ETFs.

Superstate, however, says it takes a different approach, issuing tokens that represent real company shares rather than synthetic versions that only track prices. As of last month, these include shares of crypto industry giants Galaxy and Joseph Lubin’s SharpLink.

Backpack’s FTX-Linked History

Backpack Exchange is currently ranked in 36th place among the largest and most trusted CEXs on CoinGecko, with just under $120 million in trading volumes over the past 24 hours.

Backpack’s founder and CEO, Armani Ferrante, was reportedly an early employee at Alameda Research, the controversial quantitative trading firm tied to the now defunct exchange FTX. He founded the new exchange and wallet alongside former FTX general counsel, Can Sun, who is also currently running legal and compliance at Backpack, per his LinkedIn.

The company acquired FTX’s EU-licensed arm in January.

KFC Vouchers, Deposit Confusion

The tokenized stock launch comes amid lingering controversy after the massive flash crash and crypto liquidation on Oct. 10 that saw over $19 billion in liquidated positions across the markets.

As prices dumped shapely, and billions of dollars in positions were wiped out across exchanges, some Backpack users reported that new deposits they made after they were liquidated on the CEX evaporated as they were deposited.

Ferrante addressed the concerns in an Oct. 12 post on X, emphasizing that the platform never touches users’ unrealized profit and loss (PnL). He explained that “a small amount” of the so-called “bankrupt users deposited into the exchange *before* we settled all accounts on the exchange on behalf of user [sic].”

Ferrante reassured users that “all positions have been settled without question across the board. We did not touch a single penny of unrealized PnL from our users and will never do so.” He explained the two-sided structure of a perpetual futures trade, saying “Winners on perps earn profits from losers,” and referencing the Backpack users who lost their deposits directly:

“What happened […] is that some of the losers went bankrupt and as a result their accounts were stuck in this ‘settlement’ step. As a result, when those losing positions deposited into the exchange, the settlement process was able to automatically complete and the winners were automatically paid.”

Backpack’s CEO also directed affected users — “any user that deposited while their account was being settled–or to anyone that was unexpectedly affected for any reason” to contact the Backpack for help.

Additionally, what appears to be Backpack’s official Chinese-language X account offered 200 KFC meal vouchers to users who suffered losses during the market crash, per a now-deleted post.

However, Ferrante later also clarified in another X post that the KFC post was made by a locally managed X account and didn’t represent the official stance of the company, describing the tweet as “fucking retarded.”

In commentary to The Defiant, Ferrante noted that “fewer than 40 users were affected by temporary liquidity constraints during a period of extreme market volatility,” adding that the issue was “fully resolved within hours, and all impacted balances were restored.”

As for the KFC vouchers, the Backpack CEO told The Defiant that they were “community-driven memes, not an official initiative, and no automatic offsetting of user deposits occurred.”

Disclaimer: This article has been updated to add commentary from Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante.