i thought $BP @backpack was still just a solana wallet tbh...
then i saw an interview w/ ceo/founder @armaniferrante talking about trading US stocks 24/7... even in weekends... then i had to dig in deeper
(also: MICA ✅ / europe regulated)
here's what i've found about it 👇🧵
→ where backpack started
→ wallet vs exchange
→ regulated, depending on country
→ the FTX part is kinda mad
→ US stocks trading through the weekend
▫️where backpack started
backpack launched in 2022 around a self-custody wallet built by armani ferrante, the dev behind @anchorlang
(smart contracts framework)
i remembered it mostly as a Solana wallet connected to Mad Lads & NFTs tbh
then i checked it again & aparently backpack has become a much bigger thing.
rn the same ecosystem has:
- a wallet
- a centralized exchange
- lending, perps
- trading bots
- prediction markets
- access to real US securities
quite a jump from a browser wallet.
▫️the wallet side
the wallet keeps the private keys on the user's device.
backpack doesnt hold the assets or control the account, so just a self-custodial wallet
you can:
- hold tokens across Solana, Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism & other chains
- swap tokens & stake supported assets
- manage NFTs
- connect hardware wallets or create multisig wallets
▫️the exchange
the exchange is a completely different setup.
you must complete a KYC, deposit funds & backpack takes custody of them inside a centralized account.
from there, u get:
- spot trading
- perpetual futures & margin
- crypto lending & borrowing
- grid bots & prediction markets
backpack uses cross-margin, so several positions can share the same collateral.
lent SOL can still work as trading collateral, while backpack also adds staking yield from its own SOL reserves.
pretty efficient tbh, tho one bad leveraged position can affect more parts of the account.
subaccounts can be used to seperate some of that risk.
▫️regulated, depending on country
the word regulated gets messy here becouse backpack operates through different companies.
the basic setup looks like this:
- the Dubai entity holds an active VARA licence for Exchange Services
- the European company operates under CySEC licence 273/15
- products & user protections change depending on the country
the EU company used to be called FTX EU Ltd.
yeah, that part is strange 😂 but here's what i've found...
▫️the FTX part is kinda mad
backpack lost $14.5M during the FTX collapse.
that was around 88% of its operating funds.
around 2 years later, backpack bought FTX Europe for $32.7M, inherited its Cyprus licence & took responsibility for eligible former customer claims.
FTX nearly wiped backpack out, then one part of FTX helped backpack enter regulated European markets...
crypto history is weird like that.
it gives me @LucaNetz vibes when he bought pudgy, reviving the brand and taking it to billions
▫️US stocks trading through the weekend
backpack now lets eligible international users trade select real US securities 24/7, including after american exchanges close on friday.
the setup includes:
- genuine security entitlements instead of synthetic price bets
- weekend trading through backpack's own venue
- 1:1 conversion into tokenized securities on solana
self-custody & onchain transfers for supported assets
so users can have crypto, perps & some US stocks inside the same account.
& while wall street closes for the weekend, backpack keeps its own market running... so.. kudos to their team...
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