Alpaca to Launch Prime Brokerage in Q1 2027, Bridging Tokenized and Underlying Equities

Alpaca's move matters because it positions a crypto-native API brokerage to serve hedge funds that want exposure to both tokenized and underlying equities through one custody and financing relationship, rather than splitting prime brokerage across traditional and digital-asset providers. The growth in custodial assets and the issuer roster suggest demand is already coming from exchanges rather than only funds. The open question is whether institutions treat tokenized equity as a genuine prime-brokerage asset class by the time the service goes live, or whether it remains a wrapper around conventional equity exposure.