Backpack Wallet Set to Launch Licensed Crypto Exchange in Dubai
The Backpack Exchange is poised to receive a license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and is expected to launch publicly in early 2024.
Backpack Wallet Set to Launch Licensed Crypto Exchange in Dubai
On the afternoon of October 31, 2023, the Web3 digital wallet project Backpack announced its plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange after securing an operational license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
The development team also stated that the Backpack Exchange will conduct a beta test next month, with the official public launch scheduled for Q1 2024.
Sign up for the waitlist https://t.co/44tITBLJSA 🎒 https://t.co/Wy5zQQLLum pic.twitter.com/aTE9FqmyJ3
— Backpack 🎒 (@Backpack) October 31, 2023
Backpack is a crypto wallet designed to support users in storing and minting xNFTs (Executable NFTs)—the standard behind the NFT collection craze Mad Lads—on the Solana blockchain. It was established by the crypto infrastructure company Coral.
The exchange development team claims that their compliance group has expertise from Barclays, State Street, HSBC, and Coinbase, and they assert:
“Backpack Exchange has developed a next-generation trading platform integrating innovative zero-knowledge (zk-proof) solutions and multi-party computation (MPC)—a type of multi-signature wallet allowing users to authenticate from multiple platforms—for enhanced security and low-latency trade execution.
The Backpack Exchange team will also add various trading functions such as derivatives, margin trading, and cross-collateralization. For projects and developers, Coral is a well-known name, not only providing tools but also a Framework (a development appendix), which significantly saves time and effort for developers.
The CEO and founder of Backpack, Armani Ferrante, formerly an engineer at Alameda Research, had previously raised $20 million for Coral, with the funding round led by FTX Ventures—just weeks before the exchange’s bankruptcy and its associated companies. Following the collapse of FTX, Ferrante and Coral were impacted, with $14.5 million of raised capital trapped on the exchange.
Ferrante’s move to establish an exchange appears to be inspired by the disaster caused by FTX’s collapse. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ferrante expressed his frustration with CEXs undermining the industry: “I’m tired of CEXs betraying the industry—while these crooked criminals publicly support DeFi rules, they secretly abuse them to steal customer deposits.”
He further affirmed that “the crypto sector deserves an exchange with excellent security and UX, committed honestly to technology, to uphold the core ideals and principles of the industry.”
I'm tired of CEXs selling out the industry--whether it's curly haired criminals advocating for overly abusive DeFi rules while stealing customer deposits, or bag biased executives pretending like subcent transaction fees don't already exist.
— Armani Ferrante (hiring) (@armaniferrante) October 31, 2023
Following the news, the price of Mad Lads—Backpack’s Solana-based NFT collection featuring a retro style with characters dressed in 19th-century British attire—jumped from 54 SOL to over 71 SOL (a more than 30% increase from $1,935 to approximately $2,580 per Mad Lads NFT).
24-hour price chart of the Mad Lads NFT collection on CoinGecko. Screenshot taken at 04:31 PM on October 31, 2023
