Alpaca raises $435m to bridge tokenized equities to traditional markets
Alpaca secured $435 million in new capital to expand its tokenized stock infrastructure, highlighting that the rapid growth of onchain equities still relies heavily on traditional custody and settlement.
Crypto brokerage Alpaca has secured $435 million in combined equity and debt financing to expand the infrastructure connecting traditional U.S. equities to blockchain settlement rails. Peak XV led the $135 million equity portion, with participation from BNP Paribas’ Opera Tech Ventures, Elefund and Unbound. Debt financing, primarily from Kraken parent Payward and BMO, made up the remainder of the package.
The capital injection underscores Alpaca's dominant position in a rapidly expanding but operationally complex market. The firm currently clears or custodies roughly 94% of tokenized U.S. equities, holding more than $1.5 billion in underlying stocks for partners that include Binance, Ondo and Dinari.
Despite the crypto industry's ambitions, tokenizing a stock does not eliminate the need for regulated intermediaries. Platforms must still hold the underlying shares, process corporate actions and bridge blockchain transactions to traditional markets. Alpaca’s network handles this by allowing participants to mint and redeem tokens against real shares around the clock, often pairing the exposure with stablecoin funding.
The funding arrives as tokenized equities experience explosive demand. The sector grew nearly 3,000% in 2025, reaching a market value of approximately $963 million by January. Broader market metrics are also shifting, with centralized exchange spot volumes climbing 15.3% to $1.11 trillion in June. Real-world asset perpetual volumes surged to a record $311 billion in the same month.
Competition is intensifying as major exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken push further into onchain stocks. By securing backing from both venture capital and traditional financial institutions, Alpaca is positioning itself as the essential plumbing for a market that must simultaneously satisfy crypto traders and securities regulators.
