Backpack to offer users access to equity representing 20% of the company via one-year token staking

Crypto exchange Backpack is offering users a direct stake in the company, saying 20% of its equity will be allocated to those who stake its token for at least one year.

“Don’t just use the next big thing. Own it,” the exchange posted to X on Monday.

Under the structure, users who commit tokens for a year will have the opportunity to exchange them for equity at a fixed ratio, according to founder Armani Ferrante. Ferrante said the model is intended to reduce an incentive misalignment that has plagued many token launches.

“I didn’t come into crypto 9 years ago to launch a sh*t coin,” Ferrante wrote in a lengthy statement. “Users that stake the Backpack token for at least a year will have the opportunity to exchange those tokens for equity at a fixed ratio — 20% of the company today.”

Ferrante argued that many tokens amount to unenforceable promises tied to centralized teams, creating recurring cycles of hype and post-unlock selling pressure. Unless a protocol can function without its creators, he said, token utility often remains aspirational rather than structural.

The equity-linked staking model builds on Backpack’s previously disclosed tokenomics framework, which aimed to avoid what the company called “dumping on retail” by insiders and early investors. The exchange has positioned itself as pursuing what it describes as “progressive decentralization,” combining centralized infrastructure with long-term tokenholder alignment.

Backpack’s proposal differs from typical token reward schemes by offering direct company ownership rather than expanded token emissions or yield incentives. Ferrante acknowledged the structure remains partially centralized but said it reflects a commitment to long-term alignment.

“I can’t promise anything. The only thing I can promise is commitment,” he wrote. “We go big, or we go home — together.”

Backpack, which operates a centralized crypto exchange with a focus on tokenized assets and a regulated market structure, reached a $1 billion valuation earlier this year amid a broader push into tokenization, according to prior reporting from The Block. Last year, the firm partnered with U.S. SEC-registered transfer agent Superstate to bring tokenized stocks onchain.

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