Following the recent news that the Solana-based NFT wallet app Backpack does launching a cryptocurrency exchange in Dubaithe company has added former FTX general counsel Can Sun to lead the exchange. And now Backpack’s accompanying NFT project, Solana’s crazy boyshas risen to a record high.
Sun will lead Trek Labs, said The Wall Street Journal, the Dubai-based startup tied to Backpack and its maker Coral. The news comes just weeks after Sun testified against ex-boss Sam Bankman-Fried in the US government’s fraud lawsuit against the co-founder and former CEO of FTX. Sun cooperated with prosecutors and signed a non-prosecution agreement.
According to the report, Trek Labs aims to sell a 10% stake in the company to investors at a valuation of more than $100 million.
Coral co-founder and CEO Armani Ferrante is listed as a minority shareholder in Trek Labs, according to the report, while his wife Claire Zhang also has a stake. Zhang previously served as Sun’s deputy at FTX, while Ferrante himself worked at both Alameda and FTX before founding Coral.
Solana NFT App Backpack Launches Crypto Exchange with Dubai License
Trek Labs announced in October that it has secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to launch a regulated exchange in the country. Sun disclosed its history with FTX during the regulator’s application process, the Wall Street Journal.
Amid rising prices and demand for NFTs in recent weeks Coral’s Mad Lads profile picture (PFP) project on Solana has risen to an all-time high price measured in US dollars.
Mad Lads gave Solana NFTs a ‘new heartbeat’ after losing DeGods: Coral CEO
Mad Lads NFTs currently start at a price of 82.37 SOL on secondary marketplaces, which equates to $4,480 based on Solana’s current price. That’s about double the previous USD all-time high for Mad Lads before November, as Solana has soared in recent weeks. In the last 30 days alone, it has risen 148% to a current price above $54.
Trek Labs opened beta signups for the Backpack Exchange on Sunday, and it’s exclusive to Mad Lads NFT holders in the first wave. That early access benefit could also drive purchases of the Solana NFTs.