A crypto brokerage infrastructure firm called Alpaca just raised 135 million USD to build the rails connecting traditional U.S. stocks to blockchain networks, and it already controls roughly 94 percent of all tokenized equities in existence. The bet being placed by some of the world’s biggest investors is that the future of stock trading will run on the same technology as Bitcoin.
By Carlos Martinez | July 16, 2026
The Hook: Wall Street Meets Blockchain
Alpaca, a brokerage infrastructure company that powers crypto-native trading platforms, announced on Thursday that it raised 135 million USD in equity funding to expand its tokenized stock infrastructure. The round was led by Peak XV, with participation from Elefund, BNP Paribas’ Opera Tech Ventures, and Unbound, according to CoinDesk.
The raise also includes debt financing, primarily from Kraken’s parent company Payward and BMO, bringing the total package to 435 million USD. This follows a 150 million USD Series D in January that valued the company at 1.15 billion USD, making Alpaca one of the most well-capitalized infrastructure plays in the tokenization space.
But the headline number obscures a more startling statistic: Alpaca currently clears or holds in custody roughly 94 percent of all tokenized U.S. equities, and it holds over 1.5 billion USD in underlying stocks backing those tokenized positions. In other words, if you own a tokenized share of Apple or Tesla through a crypto platform, there is a very high probability that Alpaca is the company holding the real shares behind it.
On-Chain Evidence: The Infrastructure Behind Tokenized Stocks
Tokenized stocks are digital tokens that represent ownership of real shares, allowing crypto traders to buy and hold fractional positions in U.S. equities without going through a traditional broker. They trade around the clock, settle instantly, and can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols. Major platforms including Binance, Ondo, and Dinari all rely on Alpaca’s infrastructure to offer these products.
Alpaca’s newly launched Instant Tokenization Network allows market participants to mint and redeem tokenized stocks against underlying shares 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The products pair blockchain-based stock exposure with stablecoin funding, connecting equities to crypto’s always-on settlement rails.
This matters because it addresses one of the biggest limitations of traditional stock trading: the fact that markets are only open during business hours and settlement takes days. Tokenized stocks eliminate both constraints, creating a hybrid instrument that behaves like crypto in its trading mechanics but like a stock in its economic exposure.
The Core Conflict: Onchain Hype vs. Regulatory Reality
The tokenization of real-world assets has become one of the hottest narratives in crypto, with Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton launching tokenized money market funds. But the Alpaca raise highlights a critical constraint that crypto enthusiasts often overlook: putting a stock onchain does not remove the need for a regulated firm to hold the underlying shares, process corporate actions, and connect blockchain transactions to traditional markets.
In other words, tokenization is not about replacing Wall Street infrastructure. It is about building a new interface layer on top of it. Alpaca’s business model is built on this insight, and its dominance in the space reflects the fact that very few companies have the regulatory licenses, custody infrastructure, and institutional relationships needed to bridge the two worlds.
The competition is heating up regardless. Robinhood recently launched Robinhood Chain, a blockchain network for tokenized stocks, decentralized lending, and other DeFi products. Kraken rolled out its xStocks ecosystem, which lets eligible users trade tokenized U.S. equities and use them across DeFi protocols as collateral and in yield-generating strategies. The race is on to capture the growing demand for onchain exposure to traditional financial assets.
Market Implications: What This Means for Your Portfolio
For crypto investors, the rise of tokenized equities has several important implications:
- New use cases for stablecoins — Tokenized stocks are typically bought and sold using stablecoins, which means growing adoption directly increases demand for USDT, USDC, and other dollar-backed tokens.
- DeFi gets more liquid — When tokenized stocks can be used as collateral in lending protocols, it opens up new sources of liquidity for DeFi platforms and new yield opportunities for investors.
- The infrastructure layer is consolidating — Alpaca’s 94 percent market share means that a single company is becoming the critical bottleneck for the entire tokenized equities ecosystem. That concentration risk is worth monitoring.
- Traditional finance is not going away — Despite the blockchain hype, the actual shares still need to be held by a regulated custodian. Tokenization augments Wall Street rather than replacing it.
The Verdict: Infrastructure Is the Real Story
The 135 million USD raised by Alpaca is a reminder that the most valuable companies in crypto may not be the ones making headlines with flashy tokens or meme coins. They may be the quiet infrastructure providers that connect blockchain networks to the trillions of dollars in traditional financial assets.
For investors looking to gain exposure to the tokenization trend, the key is to understand where value accrues in the stack. Exchanges and token issuers may get the attention, but the companies holding the underlying assets and processing the transactions are where the real economic activity happens.
As tokenized stocks grow from a niche crypto product to a mainstream financial instrument, the demand for regulated, reliable infrastructure will only increase. Alpaca is positioning itself to be the default provider of that infrastructure, and its latest funding round suggests that some of the world’s sharpest investors believe it will succeed.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
94% market share in tokenized equities sounds impressive until you realize the entire tokenized stock market is basically a rounding error vs traditional volumes
135M raise for a company most people havent heard of. infrastructure plays are where the real money is, not the consumer facing apps
BNP Paribas and Kraken both participating tells you the bull case from both sides. legacy custody plus crypto-native distribution
Peak XV leading makes sense, theyve been all over fintech infra in emerging markets. tokenized stocks solve real settlement problems there
94 percent market share is insane. basically a monopoly on tokenized stocks already and nobody is talking about antitrust risk there
@altcap_shift first mover advantage in a space with zero regulatory clarity is more risk than moat imo. one SEC ruling and that 94% could evaporate
calling it now: tokenized stocks will be the big narrative in 2027 once regulatory frameworks settle. Alpaca is positioning early
Peak XV leading the round tells you this is a serious infrastructure play, not some defi hype token. traditional firms want settlement rails on chain
135M raise for tokenized stocks while real crypto ppl just want spot ETFs. funny how the infrastructure layer moves faster than the actual products people asked for
94 percent of tokenized stocks sounds like monopoly until you realize the total market is tiny. call me when its 94 percent of a real number
Peak XV leading makes sense given their India and SEA portfolio. tokenized stocks solve real problems in markets where dollar settlement is friction heavy