Switzerland — Backed, the Swiss team behind the fast-growing xStocks product line and one of the earliest pioneers of compliant tokenized equities, has launched xPort — a breakthrough tokenization engine designed to let funds, market makers, and institutions convert their existing equity positions directly into onchain assets.
The launch marks one of the most significant developments yet in the push to bring traditional capital markets onto blockchain rails. Instead of minting tokenized assets only from fresh fiat deposits, xPort allows institutions to tokenize the holdings they already own, exporting value from legacy brokerage systems into the blockchain with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
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A New Model for Institutional Tokenization
xPort is powered by a new integration with Alpaca, a global leader in brokerage infrastructure APIs. Together, the two systems create a mechanism that “imports” off-chain tickers into the blockchain and “exports” them as xStocks — Backed’s compliant, freely transferable, fully collateralized tokenized equities.
The upgrade is more than a UX improvement. It delivers the first seamless path for large institutions to tokenize assets already in their portfolios.
“Tokenization is pushing financial services toward an onchain future, where assets move with the speed and openness of the internet. With direct institutional onboarding, Backed is opening the door to deeper liquidity and a more connected market landscape.”
How xPort Works: “In-Specie” Conversion Without Intermediaries
xPort establishes a direct, secure connection between Alpaca’s brokerage and custody platform and Backed’s tokenization engine. This allows approved clients — including funds, market makers, and institutional allocators — to use their off-chain shares as collateral to mint their tokenized xStock equivalents.
This “in-specie” conversion offers major advantages:
No need for fiat-based intermediaries
Granular control over equity baskets
Faster issuance and redemption cycles
A more capital-efficient path to tokenization
The same bankruptcy-remote structure Backed has operated under since 2022
For institutions seeking blockchain liquidity without reshaping their entire operations stack, xPort offers a plug-and-play bridge into onchain markets.
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Why Now: Onchain Capital Markets Are Expanding
Backed’s timing couldn’t be better. Over the last four months, the xStocks ecosystem has exploded across Solana, Ethereum, Mantle, and exchanges like Kraken and Bybit. Adoption metrics now include:
$2 billion in onchain transaction volume
$10 billion in total trading volume
$143 million in tokenized assets held onchain
46,000+ unique onchain holders
The traction makes it clear: tokenized equities are quickly moving from a niche experiment to a core liquid asset class.
“The potential of bringing equities onchain goes far beyond retail. Transactions settle in milliseconds, assets become composable, and finance expands into new verticals. xPort lets institutions access that world seamlessly.”
Roberto Klein, Co-founder of Backed
Institutional Tokenization Is the Next Frontier
xPort positions Backed — founded in 2021 and now one of the most trusted issuers of compliant tokenized equities and ETFs — as a key infrastructure layer in the transition to onchain capital markets. The company’s tokens, compatible with both EVM and Solana ecosystems, are freely transferable and fully collateralized, operating within a robust, bankruptcy-remote legal structure.
Backed continues to restrict access in the U.S. and other prohibited jurisdictions, with issuance governed by publicly available legal documentation. But for global markets, the path is now wide open: any institution holding listed equities can convert them directly into programmable, composable, high-speed xStocks.
