Amid the tightening of global crypto regulations, Backpack, a crypto exchange founded by former FTX executives, has expanded its reach to 11 US states, including California, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Wyoming and others.
In an announcement on February 21 on the social media platform
“TToday we begin our journey to bring Backpack Exchange to the US. It will be slow. It will be stable. It will be difficult. But it will be worth it. If we don’t support your state yet, please wait. We’ll get there. This is something that will take years to complete. But we are determined to get it right.”
The exchange, which is currently in beta phase, facilitates spot trading activities and plans to diversify into derivatives, margin trading and more as it secures additional licenses globally. It reportedly aims to offer non-custodial trading to differentiate itself from traditional crypto exchanges. On February 18, the platform reported a daily trading volume of $1 billion.
Backpack was co-founded by Can Sun, former general counsel at FTX, and Ferrante, formerly a software developer at Alameda Research.
Sun played a crucial role as a witness in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, revealing he had no idea the former billionaire was misusing customers’ money. Coral, Ferrante’s crypto infrastructure company, suffered a $14.5 million loss following the abrupt collapse of FTX. FTX Venture reportedly led a $20 million funding round for Coral just weeks before the collapse.
Backpack license
The Backpack Exchange platform is multi-licensed in global jurisdictions including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lithuania, Australia and the United States.
US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network records show it was initially registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) in numerous US states. Furthermore, it is duly registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) as a Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) provider.
In the UAE, the company is accredited by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). Moreover, it is registered with the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) as a virtual currency exchange operator and a deposit monetary operator for virtual currencies.