Key Notes
- Across’s live exchange offers eligible ACX holders company equity or a USDC buyout before the token’s January 2027 sunset.
- Centrifuge’s CFG-to-equity proposal won 98.53% of voting weight, with conversion still dependent on legal steps and holder eligibility.
- CoinGecko’s weak post-listing returns add context to the funding debate, while Polymarket has not announced an IPO or abandoned a token.
Across Protocol and Centrifuge are taking different routes from publicly traded crypto tokens toward company equity, as projects reassess how to finance growth and give holders a stake in their businesses. Across’s ACX exchange portal is already open; Centrifuge’s community has approved pursuing a shareholder structure for CFG holders.
The developments put a concrete shape on a debate highlighted in Bloomberg’s October 13 newsletter: whether traditional equity can offer a more workable funding and regulatory structure than a native token. Polymarket sits on the other side of that question, with renewed token speculation but no announced choice to replace a token with an IPO.
Across’s token exchange is already open
Across announced on September 17 that the protocol had transferred to Across, Inc., which it calls AcrossCo. Its live portal offers eligible ACX holders an equity exchange or a USDC buyout.
The equity route uses a 1:1 exchange ratio and an implied valuation of $0.04375 per token. It has a 250,000 ACX minimum, although smaller amounts may be considered if allocations remain. Participation requires identity checks, is subject to legal limits and eligibility rules, and requires US applicants to qualify as accredited investors.
The alternative is a USDC payment of $0.04375 per ACX, subject to sanctions screening. Both options close on January 8, 2027. Across says the token will lose its governance, utility and economic functions after that date.
That is a transition in the ownership and financing structure, rather than an announcement that the bridge is shutting down. In the original proposal, Risk Labs said a conventional company would make it easier to enter enforceable contracts, negotiate revenue agreements and work with institutional and enterprise partners.
Centrifuge’s vote clears one hurdle
Centrifuge’s CP172 proposal passed on September 10 with 98.53% of voting weight in favor, according to the governance facilitator’s result announcement. That percentage measures votes weighted by tokens, rather than the proportion of individual holders supporting the change.
The conversion proposal envisages eligible holders subscribing for one share for each CFG surrendered. The existing Cayman Islands foundation company would need to become a company capable of issuing equity, with the required corporate approvals and legal restructuring.
Under the proposed design, holders with at least 100,000 CFG would enter the shareholder register directly. Smaller eligible holders would participate through a trust structure planned with CoinList. The tokenized record would represent a direct or indirect interest in shares; legal ownership would still depend on the company register or relevant trust arrangements.
Centrifuge’s FAQ says conversion is optional and subject to identity verification, jurisdictional rules and investor eligibility. The company expects the shares to be illiquid for the foreseeable future, while their rights would be defined in corporate documents. The 1:1 ratio sets a subscription mechanism; it does not establish an independent company valuation or guarantee that a share can immediately be sold for the token’s former market price.
The vote therefore authorizes pursuing the plan. It does not, by itself, complete the restructuring, issue shares or establish that every CFG holder can participate.
Weak token returns sharpen the funding question
CoinGecko’s exchange report provides context for the reassessment. Its analysis of new listings from January 2025 through February 2026 found that about 32% recorded positive price performance during their first 30 days across the top 12 centralized exchanges.
Performance weakened as the holding period lengthened. After 30–59 days, the average proportion still above the initial listing price was about 25%. By roughly a year after listing, fewer than 10% remained above that price on most of the exchanges studied. The latter figure describes longer-term performance, rather than the share that ever traded higher after listing.
The findings do not prove that tokens are unsuitable for every protocol, or that an equity conversion will deliver better returns. They do explain why a liquid token listing should not be treated as a reliable substitute for a sustainable business model or durable investor demand.
Centrifuge’s own explanation is more specific: maintaining listings, market-maker relationships and token infrastructure consumes money and management attention. Its team argues that an equity structure could open a strategic-investor pipeline while directing more resources toward products and growth. Those are the company’s objectives, rather than outcomes already demonstrated by the conversion.
Polymarket has not abandoned a token
Polymarket remains an unresolved example, rather than another completed token-to-equity migration. CoinScreamer’s earlier coverage examined Shayne Coplan’s token hints alongside the prediction-market company’s expanding corporate and regulated US infrastructure.
Bloomberg reported in August that a proposed $1 billion funding round would value Polymarket at $21 billion after the investment.
That reported private-funding valuation is separate from an IPO price, and neither establishes the value or rights of a possible native token. Polymarket has not announced that it is abandoning a token in favor of a public listing. The distinction is especially relevant because Across and Centrifuge already have outstanding tokens whose holders need specific conversion terms; Polymarket’s potential asset has no comparable disclosed launch structure.
The common issue is how platform growth reaches its backers. Across has published an exchange deadline and cash alternative, while Centrifuge has a governance mandate to pursue shares. Polymarket’s next financing or token announcement would need to be assessed on its own terms, without assuming that these three businesses have made the same decision.
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