A Brief History of Backpack

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Backpack currently encompasses Backpack Exchange, Backpack Wallet (non-custodial) and the Mad Lads NFT collection, the top NFT community in the Solana ecosystem.

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2022

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Backpack was founded in 2022 by Solana developer Armani Ferrante, who began with launching the non-custodial Backpack Wallet. Before founding the company, Armani created Anchor, an essential Solana developer tool and security protocol that half of all Solana projects are built with.

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During FTX’s collapse in November 2022, Backpack lost $14.5 million, 88% of the company’s operating funds. The Backpack team chose to continue building with minimal funding.

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2023

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In April 2023, during the crypto bear market, Backpack quietly launched the Mad Lads NT collection. In the first week of launch, Mad Lads topped all NFT charts across all chains and helped turned attention to Solana. Mad Lads soon became the No. 1 NFT on Solana based on market cap and trading volume.  

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In November 2023, Backpack beta-launched its regulated crypto exchange after receiving the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) License from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). In February, Backpack closed its Series A fundraise led by Placeholder VC at a $120 million valuation. In December 2024, Backpack was accepted as a Type 2 member of the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) – the first new member admitted after Binance since 2022. 

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2024

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During Backpack Exchange’s one-year beta mode, it launched several campaigns in the APAC region and reached more than 650,000 fully KYC’ed users, while continuing to attracted senior talents from Citi, Stripe, State Street, Coinbase, and more. Backpack currently serves users from more than 150 countries and regions with more than $60 billion in trading volume.