Alpaca Accelerates Tokenized Markets with $135M Funding

Alpaca, the BNP Paribas‑backed brokerage infrastructure provider, announced it has raised $135 million to accelerate growth in tokenized markets and AI‑native financial services.

A Strategic Push into Tokenized Finance

Alpaca will deploy the new capital to scale its agent‑first and API‑first prime brokerage infrastructure, building a regulated bridge between DeFi and TradFi as demand for on‑chain investment products surges.

Capital Structure and Regulatory Landscape

■$135 million new equity led by Peak XV.

■$300 million debt financing from Payward (Kraken) and BMO.

■$150 million Series D round in January lifted the firm’s valuation to $1.15 billion.

■Token Terminal reports the global market cap of tokenized stocks now stands at $2.3 billion.

Market Partnerships and Ecosystem Expansion

Alpaca recently sealed a revenue‑sharing deal with Binance, supplying brokerage, clearing, and custody services for Binance’s stock‑trading product, thereby widening blockchain‑based access to traditional assets for investors outside the United States.

Outlook and Compliance Risks

CEO Yoshi Yokokawa notes, "As tokenization reshapes global market access and AI spawns new financial applications, demand is growing for regulated infrastructure built for this paradigm shift," highlighting both SEC and Europe’s MiCA framework as a catalyst for infrastructure providers.

Markets will experience a pronounced shift in liquidity depth and compliance costs as infrastructure players like Alpaca embed tokenization and AI into their core offerings. Clear regulatory guidance will be pivotal for institutional investors to engage confidently in this emerging ecosystem. – Deniz Arel, Director of Crypto Regulation & Compliance