Armani Ferrante is the founder and CEO of Backpack. Before founding Backpack, he was the creator of Anchor, a groundbreaking developer tool that revolutionized programing on Solana. Armani is a former software engineer at Apple and a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Computer Science.

Tom holds two postgraduate degrees in distributed systems and undergrad degrees in law and electronic engineering. He has managed security audits from leading security firms and assisted in disaster recovery. His smart contracts have secured over $300m USD in crypto assets. Thomas is responsible for overseeing our technological strategy, innovation, and operations.

Mark brings decades of experience across financial regulation, market structure, and digital assets, including: former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the CFTC, Head of Global Public Policy at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), and CEO of MIAX Futures, where he led the expansion of a regulated derivatives exchange.

Can served as general counsel at FTX International, where he oversaw legal operations and regulatory strategies across all non-US jurisdictions. Prior to FTX, Can co-founded and co-chaired the Blockchain Practice Group at Fenwick & West LLP. Can holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University.

Nathan Smith brings years of experience building infrastructure at the intersection of blockchain technology and large-scale financial platforms. He previously served as a technical lead at Coinbase. At Backpack, he oversees operational processes, coordinates leadership across teams, and drives the company’s organizational scaling.