Crypto broker raises $135M for tokenized stocks

TLDR

Crypto brokerage infrastructure firm Alpaca has raised $135 million to expand rails for tokenized stocks that connect traditional equities to blockchain-based trading.

1. Alpaca secured $135M in equity plus up to $300M in debt to grow its regulated tokenized stock infrastructure.
2. Tokenized stocks have grown to about $2.3B in market cap, with Alpaca already handling most U.S. tokenized equities.
3. For crypto users, this points to more stock-like products on exchanges, but with ongoing regulatory and operational constraints to watch.

Deep Dive

1. Funding Round And Alpacas Role

Alpaca raised $135 million in a new equity round led by Peak XV, with participation from Elefund, BNP Paribas Opera Tech Ventures and Unbound, and also secured up to $300 million in debt financing from Kraken parent Payward and BMO, bringing the total package to $435 million. Reports note that this follows a $150 million Series D in January that valued the firm at $1.15 billion, although no new valuation was disclosed in the latest round.

Alpaca is a brokerage infrastructure provider that clears and custodies tokenized U.S. equities for multiple platforms, and at one point handled roughly 94 percent of tokenized U.S. stocks, with over $1.5 billion in underlying equities held for partners such as Binance, Ondo and others, according to Alpacas funding announcement.

The fresh capital is earmarked to expand its agent-first brokerage and API-first prime brokerage infrastructure, supporting more tokenized equities and AI-native financial applications.

2. Tokenized Stocks Market Momentum

The tokenized stock market has grown quickly from under $1 billion in early 2026 to around $2.3 billion in market capitalization, based on data shared by Token Terminal and covered in recent reports on global tokenized stocks hitting $2.3 billion.

Ethereum, BNB Chain and Solana host much of this activity, while exchange products like Krakens xStocks and Binances bStocks contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in tokenized equity exposure. Issuers such as Ondo Finance are building larger onchain equity books, and infrastructure players like DTCC are testing tokenization of equities and Treasuries with major banks and exchanges.

For crypto platforms, tokenized stocks offer fractional ownership, 24/7 trading and access for non U.S. investors, making them a natural extension of existing crypto trading rails.

3. What Crypto Users Should Watch

For users, Alpacas raise makes it more likely that major exchanges will keep adding tokenized stock products, deeper margin integration and multi asset accounts that mix crypto with tokenized equities.

However, despite tokenization, regulated intermediaries must still hold the underlying shares, process corporate actions and bridge onchain transfers to traditional settlement systems, which means legal rights and risks are still largely rooted in traditional securities markets rather than pure crypto.

Conclusion

Alpacas $135 million raise reinforces tokenized equities as a serious, infrastructure driven trend rather than a niche experiment, with regulated brokers and major exchanges now tightly linked. For crypto users, the practical impact is more ways to access traditional stocks through familiar crypto platforms, alongside new complexity in regulation and custody that is worth monitoring as this market matures.