The
Backpack ecosystem of companies, creators of the Backpack wallet, the Mad Lads
NFT collection, and Backpack Exchange, today announced the first joint closing
of their $17 million strategic Series A round at a $120 million combined
valuation.
The
round was led by Placeholder VC, with participation from a select group of
other strategic investors including Hashed, Robot Ventures, Amber Group,
Wintermute, Selini Capital, Delphi Digital, and founders of leading web3
ecosystems such as Solana, Tensor, Jito, Zeta, Marginfi, Drift, Monad, Galxe,
and other influential supporters worldwide.
Armani
Ferrante, CEO of Backpack commented on the news: “The history of finance
is littered with scandals, but Backpack is doing things differently. Over the
past year, we’ve set the foundation to build a crypto-native financial
institution, and with the conclusion of this round, with trust minimization and
compliance as foundational principles, we begin a new chapter for ourselves
and, hopefully, for the rest of the industry.”
The
Backpack ecosystem comprises several products and services, including the
popular Backpack noncustodial wallet, Backpack Exchange, a fully regulated
global cryptocurrency exchange with industry-leading speed, security and
functionalities, and Mad Lads, currently the top NFT community in the Solana
ecosystem. Backpack is also the creator and developer of Anchor, the Solana
smart contract framework, the executable NFT (xNFT) token standard, and
others.
Backpack’s
strategic fundraising was led by Placeholder VC. “We’ve been impressed with
Backpack’s ability to not only deliver high-quality applications, but also
build a strong community around their ecosystem,” said Joel Monegro, General
Partner at Placeholder VC. “After building a relationship with the team over
the past year, we’re convinced they have the skill, ambition and drive to
create one of the most trustworthy global exchanges in the industry with a
strong focus on performance, compliance, and auditability.”
“The
Backpack team is an all-star team that really understands the community with a
focus on building compliant services. Their ability to create the best user
experience is top notch, and the synergies within their ecosystem are evidenced
by their strong track record of user acquisition within the industry to
date.” Baek Kim, General Partner at Hashed said. “We are very excited
to work with the team and resonate deeply with their compliance standpoint in
terms of being optimally regulated and entering the mainstream of the global
financial infrastructure.”
The
round also attracted strong interest from other leading web3 ecosystem players.
“The Backpack team is a great example of what happens when crypto natives are
also strong builders. They understand that crypto is not just the underlying
technology, it is also the culture that forms around it,” said Evgeny Gaevoy,
founder of Wintermute, one of the largest liquidity providers in digital
assets, “For me, Backpack is having the success I would expect, when a team
figures out the intersection of tech and culture. I’m excited to see them
continue to grow.”
Backpack’s
fundraising was applauded by the Solana ecosystem as well. “Backpack has not
only pioneered exceptional products such as the Backpack Wallet but has also
cultivated a remarkable community through the Mad Lads. Armani and the Backpack
team have exemplified what it means to focus on great products and user
experiences and iterate relentlessly,” said Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of
Solana Labs, “Watching Backpack build a global exchange that stands out for its
user experience and trustworthiness has been truly inspiring.”
About
Backpack Wallet
Backpack
Wallet (https://www.backpack.app/) is an all-in-one web3 app that functions as
a noncustodial wallet, allowing users to buy, hold, sell, and transfer
cryptocurrencies, as well as interact with xNFTs, a popular NFT standard that
tokenizes applications. Backpack Wallet is also the creator of Mad Lads, the
top NFT collection in the Solana ecosystem.
About
Backpack Exchange
Backpack
Exchange is a fully regulated global cryptocurrency exchange innovating to
provide an exciting, fun, and easy-to-use trading platform for both experienced
and new web3 users worldwide.