How an Exchange Led by Former CFTC Chairman Is Making On-Chain IPOs a Reality

BackPack:- The surge in tokenized equities has been one of the most visible trends across Web3 this year. The market has already crossed $26 billion, as blockchain networks and exchanges are increasingly offer tokenized versions of stocks that trade on traditional exchanges.

Yet most of the founders and analysts have shared a common limitation of this: they simply represent shares that are already listed in public markets. In other words, the blockchain layer comes after the company has already gone public.

Now, some companies are trying to push the idea further.

Backpack Exchange, founded by Armani Ferrante, is beginning to explore whether the IPO process itself can move onto blockchain rails. The exchange is expanding its U.S. presence after it recently appointed former CFTC chairman Mark Wetjen to lead its US diviision. It is working with Superstate and its on-chain equity platform Opening Bell to experiment with what it calls on-chain IPOs.

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How Is Backpack Making On-Chain IPOs Possible

The ambition is straightforward but significant. Instead of tokenizing shares after they begin trading, the model aims to bring the issuance of those shares directly onto blockchain infrastructure. If that vision works, blockchain would no longer just host tokenized versions of existing assets.  It could become part of the infrastructure through which companies actually raise capital in public markets.

For an industry that has spent years trying to bridge crypto and traditional finance, that would mark a meaningful shift. It is from tokenizing markets that already exist to building entirely new ones on-chain.

Making IPOs work on blockchain rails requires far more than simply turning shares into tokens. It means rethinking how shares are issued, recorded, and distributed in the first place. That is the direction Backpack Exchange appears to be exploring.

The exchange is working with Superstate, the financial infrastructure firm founded by Robert Leshner, known for launching Compound Labs. Superstate has been building an on-chain equity framework called Opening Bell, designed to bring parts of the public-market infrastructure onto blockchain networks.

The idea is relatively simple in theory but complex in execution. Instead of issuing shares through the conventional chain of brokers, clearinghouses, and transfer agents, companies could issue shares through a system where ownership records are maintained on blockchain infrastructure. In this setup, the blockchain effectively becomes part of the official record of who owns what.

Coming of On-chain IPOs

Backpack’s role in this model is to act as the distribution layer. Through the exchange, users could sign up for potential allocations in upcoming IPOs. If selected, their ownership would be reflected through on-chain records tied to the newly issued shares. Rather than tokenizing stocks that are already trading in public markets, the goal is to bring the issuance process itself onto blockchain rails.

That distinction matters. Most tokenized equity products available today simply mirror shares that already exist on traditional exchanges. What Backpack and its partners are exploring goes one step further whether blockchain infrastructure can support the moment when shares are first issued to investors.

There is also a regulatory dimension to the effort. The exchange recently brought in Mark Wetjen, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to help lead its U.S. expansion. His involvement suggests the company understands that experiments with on-chain capital markets will inevitably intersect with existing securities rules.

For now, the concept is still developing. But if projects like Backpack’s gain traction, they could begin shifting blockchain’s role in finance—from a place where assets are traded to infrastructure that helps create and distribute those assets in the first place.