Introducing xPort, the In-Specie Tokenization Engine
The new tokenization mechanism allows seamless portability of equities to tokens through in-specie tokenization, creating a clean on-ramp for onboarded clients to tokenize their shares seamlessly.
Traditional finance and crypto have always been two worlds apart. For the first time, in 2025 we saw large-scale acknowledgement of cryptocurrencies by institutional investors, and the first extensive line of tokenized equities. TradFi-DeFi borders are open, and yet crossing is still slow. xPort changes this.
For the first time, funds, market makers, and institutions can take the shares they already own and convert them directly into fully-compliant, bankruptcy-remote xStocks – no fiat round-trip, no extra transactions or paperwork. It’s in-specie tokenization, and it’s the cleanest on-ramp institutions have ever had to the blockchain.
How to xPort
The system works by creating a direct flow from Alpaca’s brokerage and custody platform to Backed’s tokenization engine. Onboarded clients such as funds and market makers can use their off-chain shares directly as collateral to mint xStocks.
This "in-specie" conversion provides more granular control over holdings and removes fiat-based intermediaries from the minting process. This integration provides a vastly more efficient pathway to tokenization while maintaining the same robust, bankruptcy-remote structure Backed has pioneered since 2022.
Here is how it works:
- Onboarded client transfers assets to Alpaca’s custody platform.
- Alpaca’s API signals the transfer to Backed’s system.
- Backed mints and transfers the new tokenized equities to the client’s verified wallet.
It is a game changer for institutions and professional investors. Everyday users can expect not only deeper liquidity as flows increase, but also better execution as market makers are able to control and hedge their positions more efficiently.
Tokenization welcomes everyone and places them in a level playing field, but it’s not just about accessibility. Tokenized assets increase transaction speed, are universally verifiable through a public ledger as the blockchain, and can be used on structured financial instruments like any other token, while providing the benefits of more stable and time-tested assets.
Mass tokenization is not a question of if, nor when, it’s how. And xPort is the answer.