Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante appeared on CNBC on Friday morning to announce that the crypto-native brokerage has launched 24/7 trading of real U.S. equities for international investors through genuine security entitlements rather than synthetic derivatives. Initial launch names include Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction), SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), and SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX).
“We’re super excited to be going live with 24/7 trading of real U.S. equities through the brokerage for the first time. Going live today,” Backpack’s CEO Ferrante said on the segment. He framed the launch as an infrastructure shift enabled by tokenization, with Backpack operating as a globally regulated financial institution built on blockchain technology.
International Investors Can Now Trade U.S. Equities Around the Clock
Many overseas platforms already offer “U.S. stock” exposure, but usually through contracts for difference or synthetic derivatives that track the price without conferring ownership. “What we’re doing is really for the first time, opening up 24/7 trading for a genuine bona fide security entitlement,” he said. “Markets will close on Friday in the US. And over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, people through the Backpack brokerage will continue to trade. And they’ll get the exact same asset that you would expect from your brokerage account.”
Ferrante drew a direct parallel to stablecoins, which have become major holders of U.S. Treasuries globally by providing international users with frictionless dollar exposure. “When you look internationally, it’s a very different story. It’s a story about access. It’s a story about the entire world wanting access to US dollars,” he said. He suspects the same demand curve applies to U.S. equity ownership.
Micron Brings 346% Revenue Growth to Backpack’s Launch
Micron is the poster child for AI-era memory demand. The company posted fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $41.456 billion, a 345.7% year-over-year jump, with non-GAAP EPS of $25.11 and GAAP gross margin of 84.6%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors that “Micron’s record fiscal Q3 financial results and even stronger outlook for Q4 reflect the strategic value of memory in the AI era.” Q4 guidance calls for revenue of $50.0 billion ± $1.0 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $31.00 ± $1.00, with gross margin expanding to roughly 86%.
SanDisk’s Data Center Revenue Just Exploded 645%
SanDisk offers a parallel storyline in NAND flash and enterprise SSDs. Fiscal Q3 2026 revenue landed at $5.95 billion, up 251% year over year, with the Datacenter segment posting +645% YoY growth to $1.467 billion. CEO David Goeckeler described the quarter as “a fundamental inflection point for SanDisk where our technology leadership is enabling a deliberate shift in our mix toward the highest-value end markets, led by Datacenter.” The company retired $650 million in debt during the quarter, reaching a zero long-term debt balance sheet, and guided Q4 revenue to $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion. SanDisk has traded publicly for a little over a year since separating from Western Digital in February 2025.
Readers looking to find the winning companies riding the AI build-out wave can dig into our Free Report: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom (That Aren’t Chipmakers).
Weekend Trading Could Create a New Source of Price Discovery
The immediate question is whether continuous access generates meaningful international trading in Micron, SanDisk, and other U.S. equities while traditional markets are closed. The larger question is whether Backpack’s genuine-entitlement structure pressures competing brokerages to move beyond synthetic stock exposure.
Ferrante’s stablecoin comparison captures the potential opportunity. Stablecoins expanded access to U.S. dollars and Treasuries by making them available to international users around the clock. Backpack is betting that global investors have the same unmet demand for genuine ownership of American companies.
If international investors embrace the model, weekend trading in America’s leading technology companies could become a meaningful source of capital flow and price discovery rather than a crypto-market curiosity.
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