Former Alameda Research Engineer Launches In Dubai The Crypto Backpack Exchange

Web3 wallet company Backpack received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for Backpack Exchange, which will provide crypto exchange services in Dubai.

What Happened? Backpack is also behind Mad Lads, a top NFT collection by market cap on Solana and was created by crypto infrastructure company Coral. It has also been granted operational licenses across several jurisdictions worldwide over the past five months.

The exchange encompasses zero-knowledge (ZK) proof-of-reserves, multi-party computation (MPC) for custody and low-latency order execution, among other features.

Backpack Exchange will launch in private beta, spot crypto trading functionality for existing Backpack and Mad Lads community members in November 2023.

The exchange will be launched to the public in the first quarter of 2024. It plans to add various trading functionalities such as derivatives, margin and cross-collateral while its compliance team will work on securing additional licenses across the world.

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Why Does It Matter? Backpack CEO and founder Armani Ferrante said: “It's time to put an end to the days of opaque crypto exchanges representing everything our industry stands against. It shouldn't be normal to use an exchange with a single point of failure, without proof of reserves, or auditability.”

He went on to add that by using the technology, the exchange plans to raise its transparency bar and compliance.

Ferrante is a former Alameda Research engineer who had raised $20 million for Coral in a co-funding round led by FTX Ventures, a few weeks before the collapse, The Block reported. FTX Ventures had invested $10 million in the startup.

Strengthening its crypto-friendly jurisdiction, the VARA regulator of Dubai has issued various degrees of operational licenses to numerous crypto exchanges over the past year.

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