Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

xStocks is undoubtedly one of the hottest keywords recently, quickly becoming a partner for U.S. stock tokenization on platforms like Kraken, Bybit, and Jupiter. The developer behind it, Backed, has also rapidly seized the narrative of "coin-stock integration."

Backend Team Members

The Second Entrepreneurship of the "Zeroing" Team

Upon deeper investigation, it becomes clear that the story behind the team is much more complex than it appears. The three co-founders of Backed Finance, Adam Levi, Yehonatan Goldman, and Roberto Klein, were all core members of the DAOstack project.

According to RootData, DAOstack is a decentralized coordination operating system that supports decentralized companies, funds, and markets. The project launched in 2017, during a significant crisis for the DAO concept, when the industry widely doubted whether practical applications could be achieved in the short term. However, DAOstack launched against the tide of skepticism and completed three rounds of financing in 2018, raising a total of $30 million.

However, after the token GEN completed its ICO fundraising, the team failed to list it on any exchanges, including small to medium-sized trading platforms. Ultimately, GEN lost liquidity and ended up at zero. Crypto KOL 0xTodd sharply commented: "Many second to fourth-tier exchanges usually take the initiative to list tokens, but DAOstack didn't even manage to get that 'strong listing'; the team is truly a mess."

The DAO concept did not see a real explosion in the following years, and the project's popularity declined accordingly. According to KOL Crypto Fearless, the project has been almost stagnant since 2020. Ultimately, in 2022, due to depleted funds, DAOstack Limited announced the official shutdown of the project.

Now, this team has returned to the market with a new narrative, donning the new guise of "U.S. stock tokenization," successfully riding the wave of coin-stock integration. How far can they go this time?

Master of Music in Growth, Dissecting the Backed Team Profile

According to LinkedIn, the overall size of the Backed team is between 11 and 50 people. Further observation reveals that, aside from the founders and directors, the core members of the project can be roughly divided into two categories:

One category consists of anti-money laundering and legal compliance personnel, which makes up a relatively high proportion, and most have mature legal backgrounds and experience. This configuration is clearly highly compatible with the track that Backed is in and provides institutional support for its involvement in tokenized assets.

The other category includes former employees from the crypto asset management company 21Shares, including the current CTO and COO Yotam Katznelson and senior software engineer Łukasz Romanowski. This group forms the technical backbone of Backed, responsible for driving the construction and deployment of underlying products.

Structurally, Backed's team is supported by two main lines: "technology + compliance." However, not all members' role settings are so reasonable and clear. For example, growth director David Henderson has a rather unconventional background.

According to David's LinkedIn profile, he holds a master's degree in music from the University of Aberdeen, and his career experience is mainly concentrated in communication coordination positions at universities, with almost no experience related to crypto or finance. The only relevant experience is a six-month stint in "strategic digital assessment" related to trusts. Yet, he is responsible for growth and marketing at Backed.

Backed Co-founders: Academic, Artistic, and Investment Backgrounds

The three co-founders of Backed all come from Israel and have vastly different backgrounds and styles: one is a PhD in physics, one is an art gallery owner, and one is an angel investor. Notably, their Web3 experience is almost exclusively concentrated in DAOstack and Backed.

Adam Levi holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and previously served as an academic officer (lieutenant rank) in the Israel Defense Forces, also working as a university teaching assistant. Before 2020, he published ten papers on black holes and quantum effects, coming from a pure academic background. He is now the external representative of Backed, frequently leading interviews and events.

Yehonatan Goldman describes himself as a "self-taught multidisciplinary creator" and holds a master's degree in material cultural heritage conservation from the University of Haifa in Israel. He founded the Talish Art Gallery and has also been active as a freelance project manager. In 2017, he joined DAOstack as the Chief Operating Officer.

Roberto Klein's experience leans more towards capital operations. He graduated from Tel Aviv University and obtained an MBA from IMD Business School in Switzerland. Early in his career, he worked in optoelectronics and investment analysis, transitioning to angel investing in 2009, focusing on renewable energy and fintech. Since 2017, he has been responsible for legal and regulatory affairs at DAOstack.

From the early exploration of DAOstack to the coin-stock narrative behind xStocks, riding the wave often outweighs silent cultivation. However, what the market ultimately cares about is still the fundamentals and sustainability.

Currently, some users have begun to question issues such as insufficient liquidity, high fees, and lack of transparency in audits. Can this "second entrepreneurship" team tell a more mature story? The answer remains to be seen.

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