Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
-
The Backpack crypto exchange and wallet service provider is reportedly in talks to raise $50 million at a $1 billion pre-money valuation.
-
According to Axios, this latest development comes as the company moves forward with its tokenization push.
Backpack Hits a $1B Pre-money Valuation
Backpack, the crypto exchange founded by former FTX employees, has become the latest cryptocurrency company to achieve a unicorn status. This is according to a report by Axios on Monday, which added that the firm is in talks to raise $50 million in fresh financing at a $1 billion pre-money valuation.
This latest development comes as Backpack intensifies its tokenization scheme, which includes plans to reserve 37.5% of its total 1 billion exchange token supply for a “post-IPO” company treasury.
Co-founder Armani Ferrante stated that the plan was to prevent dumping on retail investors and ensure long-term alignment.
Ferrante added that,
“It's not until the company goes public (or has some other type of equity exit event) that the team can earn any wealth from the project. It's not until the company has access to the largest, most liquid capital markets in the world by going public — and it's not until the company has done all the hard work to earn access to those markets — that the team can reap the rewards of the value created by the Backpack community from now until then.”
The report added that an extra 37.5% of the supply will be circulated on the market, “pre-IPO,” based on measurable goals like expanding to new regions and rolling out new products.
Currently, Backpack has yet to set a date for its token generation event. However, the company stated that 250 million tokens will be airdropped to early backers, including Backpack Points program participants, with another 1 million tokens reserved for Mad Lads NFT holders.
Backpack initially began as a Solana-based wallet project in 2023. It was founded by the team behind the Mad Lads NFT collection, including Ferrante, a former Solana developer and early Alameda Research employee, and Can Sun, former general counsel for FTX, who testified in the trial against Sam Bankman-Fried.
However, it has now grown to become a regulated spot and derivatives crypto exchange and multi-chain wallet. The company is also expanding into lending and prediction markets.
The firm raised $17 million in Series A funding in 2024, with backing from Placeholder VC, as lead investor, and other notable VCs including Robot Ventures, Wintermute, and Selini, among others.
In September, Backpack EU launches Europe's first fully regulated crypto derivatives platform after settling with the Cyprus regulator.
Last year, Backpack also acquired FTX EU, the European arm of the collapsed crypto giant, giving it access to a MiFID II-regulated framework.
