Backpack's New Listing Strategy: How Token Unlock Plans Define a New IPO Path for Crypto Companies

Solana developer Armani Ferrante and former FTX executive Tristan Yver are creating a new IPO roadmap for the cryptocurrency exchange Backpack.

On February 9, 2026, Backpack officially announced a groundbreaking tokenomics plan that directly ties its token unlocks to the company’s process of going public in the United States.

Analysis of Backpack Token Allocation Framework

Backpack’s designed token distribution scheme presents a sophisticated and innovative three-layer structure. The plan divides a total supply of 1 billion tokens into three distinct phases, with each phase’s unlock strictly linked to key company milestones.

The first phase is the token generation event (TGE), where 25% of the tokens are released directly. Of these, 24% are allocated to stakers, and 1% are reserved for Mad Lads NFT holders. This design releases 250 million tokens to early community supporters on TGE day.

The second phase involves a pre-listing growth trigger, unlocking 37.5% of the total supply. Unlike traditional time-based releases, these tokens’ unlock depends entirely on the achievement of predefined growth milestones.

These milestones are related to measurable regulatory progress, product expansion, and broader market access. Backpack’s founders explicitly state: “Increasing circulating supply must be supported by corresponding growth in platform scale and utility.”

The third phase is the post-IPO company treasury, accounting for the remaining 37.5% of the total supply. These tokens will be locked for at least 12 months after the company’s successful initial public offering, serving as the company’s strategic digital asset reserve.

Design Logic of the IPO-Linked Mechanism

Backpack’s token unlock scheme is based on a core principle: company insiders should not profit before going public. This principle is realized through a carefully crafted separation of equity and tokens.

The company’s team and early supporters do not hold tokens directly but gain exposure through the company treasury’s equity. This means they can only benefit from the value created after the company completes its IPO.

The innovation here addresses a common conflict of interest in traditional crypto projects. By linking team wealth directly to public market performance, Backpack incentivizes the team to prioritize long-term sustainable growth over short-term token price fluctuations.

The founders clarify this logic: “Until the company goes public (or has other types of equity exit events), the team cannot realize any wealth from the project. Only after the company enters the world’s largest and most liquid capital markets through an IPO—and after all the hard work to qualify for those markets—can the team benefit from the value created by the Backpack community.”

Comparison with Traditional Crypto IPO Models

Traditional crypto company IPO paths typically follow a linear process: business maturity – compliance transformation – equity financing – going public. For example, Coinbase reached the public markets after establishing a solid revenue base and regulatory compliance.

In contrast, Backpack’s model features a synchronized approach—tokenomics and equity value are developed simultaneously, interconnected through predefined milestones. This design essentially creates a “dual-track financing” structure, maintaining community engagement characteristic of crypto while following traditional equity appreciation logic.

Regarding token distribution, traditional models either rely solely on equity financing (like Coinbase) or implement independent token economies (most DeFi projects). Backpack’s innovation lies in explicitly linking token releases to regulatory milestones and product expansion, aligning interests between token holders and equity investors.

On regulatory compliance, Backpack adopts a gradual approach, currently serving 48% of global markets and prioritizing regulatory approval over rapid geographic expansion. This contrasts with many crypto firms that expand first and seek compliance later.

The 2026 Crypto IPO Wave: An Overview

2026 is set to be a pivotal year for crypto companies entering public markets, with several industry giants announcing IPO plans. Their varied strategies create a diverse landscape for crypto IPOs.

For example, Kraken plans to go public in the first half of 2026, with an estimated valuation of up to $20 billion. In Q3 2025, it reported quarterly revenue of $648 million, up 50% year-over-year, demonstrating strong financial fundamentals. Kraken’s IPO approach is closer to traditional tech firms, emphasizing compliance and financial strength.

Consensys presents a hybrid model of token and equity. As the parent company of MetaMask, it has 30 million monthly active users and aims to go public mid-2026. Its challenge lies in managing potential conflicts of interest between token holders and shareholders.

Ledger positions itself as “the Apple of self-custody,” having sold over 6 million hardware wallets and custodying over $100 billion in Bitcoin assets. It seeks to turn one-time hardware sales into recurring software service revenue via Ledger Live.

Deep Impact on Crypto and Traditional Finance Integration

Backpack’s IPO-linked model is not just an innovation in tokenomics but also a reflection of deeper trends toward integration between crypto and traditional finance. When Armani Ferrante states that Backpack aims to develop excellent traditional financial products alongside crypto offerings, he reveals a broader vision.

Backpack plans to expand banking infrastructure, fiat accounts in major markets, and securities trading capabilities, while continuing to provide crypto services. This bidirectional integration allows crypto exchanges to tap into the stability of traditional finance and the innovation of crypto markets simultaneously.

This trend echoes technological shifts in traditional markets. In September 2025, Nasdaq submitted a proposal to the SEC seeking to amend rules to enable trading of tokenized securities on its platform. If approved, stocks like Apple and Amazon could be settled via blockchain tokens on Nasdaq in the future.

Crypto firms seeking traditional IPOs and exchanges embracing tokenization are jointly building a fused market infrastructure. In this new ecosystem, the efficiency and transparency of traditional finance will combine with the openness and programmability of crypto markets.

Challenges and Uncertainties of the Backpack Model

While promising, Backpack’s innovative approach faces multiple challenges and uncertainties. External risks mainly stem from the evolving regulatory environment. Although the new SEC chair has shown a more crypto-friendly stance, and lawsuits against Kraken and Consensys have been dismissed, the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies as an asset class remains unclear.

The mechanism for coordinating interests between token holders and shareholders still needs to be tested in practice. Despite the design aligning their interests, conflicts of priority may arise. Especially under short-term market pressures, balancing token releases and price stability will test management’s wisdom.

The long-term binding model also impacts market liquidity. With 37.5% of tokens locked for 12 months post-IPO, this helps prevent large sell-offs early on but reduces circulating supply, potentially affecting price discovery efficiency.

Gate Platform and Industry Innovation Trends

As Backpack and other crypto companies explore new IPO pathways, the pace of innovation in the industry accelerates. Gate platform closely monitors these developments, providing users with cutting-edge market insights and investment opportunities.

The crypto industry is shifting from fringe to mainstream, evolving from a simple trading platform to a comprehensive financial service provider. Backpack’s direction—integrating banking infrastructure, global fiat accounts, and securities trading—embodies this transformation.

This innovation extends beyond large exchanges. The 2026 token sale market shows diverse development, including the continued rise of clearing auctions from niche to mainstream, exchange-integrated platform markets expanding, and capacity-based distribution gradually replacing first-come-first-served models.

Summary

Among major global exchanges, Nasdaq has begun exploring tokenized stock trading, submitting a rule change proposal to the SEC. If approved, this would mean traditional financial core infrastructure fully embracing blockchain technology, further blurring the lines between traditional securities and crypto assets.

Backpack co-founder Armani Ferrante stands by a window in their New York office, gazing toward Wall Street. His team has just completed a design that ties token unlocks to the IPO process: “Until the company enters the world’s largest, most liquid capital markets, we won’t see returns.”

This commitment is now embedded in every line of their tokenomics. The boundary between crypto and Wall Street is quietly dissolving within their code.