Backpack Exchange Offers 20% Equity to Token Stakers
Backpack Exchange CEO Armani Ferrante announced a token launch where early backers can exchange staked tokens for company equity before the planned IPO, rather than holding speculative assets with uncertain utility.
Key Takeaway
Backpack's token-to-equity swap lets users become shareholders before the IPO, not just token holders.
Backpack Exchange CEO Armani Ferrante announced users who stake the platform's token for at least a year can exchange those tokens for 20% of company equity at a fixed ratio.
The structure distributes 62.5% of tokens to users in the first allocation. Another 37.5% of the total 1 million-token supply unlocks before the company's planned IPO, contingent on hitting certain milestones. The remaining 37.5% goes to team members and investors after the public listing.
Ferrante said he came into crypto believing it would change the world but thinks the industry lost its way amid false promises and what he calls "decentralization theater." He said crypto now exists in its most centralized era and wanted an alternative to typical token launches that overpromise utility.
Only 25% of the token supply unlocks at the Token Generation Event. Ferrante said the token will start relatively centralized but plans exist for progressive decentralization as the product evolves.
Backpack launched its private beta in November 2023 and went public in early 2024. The exchange raised ₱980.22 million ($17 million) in a Series A round in February 2024 and later hit a ₱57.66 billion ($1 billion) valuation. Ferrante previously worked at Alameda Research and FTX, which collapsed in November 2022 and wiped out 88% of Backpack's operating capital from investors.
The company partnered with Superstate, an SEC-registered transfer agent, in October to bring tokenized stocks onchain. The equity staking structure was revealed on February 23.
This article was written based on reporting from Cointelegraph.
