Backpack Founder: After Wall Street Goes API, Small Teams Have the Opportunity to Build Next-Generation Financial Applications

on November 5, Backpack founder and CEO Armani Ferrante stated during an interview on the show Rollup that once the entire Wall Street landscape becomes a developer-accessible API, programmable finance will fuel extensive experimentation, giving small teams the chance to build next-generation financial applications.

Ferrante noted that establishing a brokerage in the US was previously a "Herculean" task, making it nearly impossible for five people in a dorm room to create the next Robinhood. However, with Wall Street becoming API-enabled, the barrier to entry will drop significantly.

He cited examples where individuals are already attempting to split SpaceX equity into exposure to revenue streams like Starlink or space data centers, allowing users to easily assemble custom ETFs. He also mentioned that while traditional ETFs like SPY charge around 7 to 9 basis points in fees on assets under management, rebuilding these systems on-chain using automated smart contracts could compress fee structures down to just 1 basis point or even zero.