Will the Backpack bring the next "airdrop feast"?
Persist in interaction and wait for blessings.Author: Asher
Editor: Qin Xiaofeng, Odaily Planet Daily
The Past and Present of Backpack
Backpack is the next-generation cryptocurrency exchange and multi-chain wallet, providing a self-custody solution that integrates multi-party computation (MPC) technology to ensure the security of funds. Currently, BackPack has launched three products: Backpack Exchange, Backpack Wallet, and the MadLads NFT project.
Official website: https://backpack.exchange/.
Project Development
In September 2022, Coral, the developer of the Solana development framework Anchor, announced the completion of a $20 million funding round, led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto, with participation from Multicoin Capital, Anagram, K5 Global, and other strategic investors. At that time, the company launched its first flagship product—an interactive wallet product, Backpack, designed for a crypto-native experience.
As a security-focused cryptocurrency wallet for Solana and Ethereum, Backpack Wallet has become the top choice for developers and heavy blockchain users, committed to creating a user-friendly and easy-to-use next-generation wallet. Its unique feature—the NFT collection lock—is currently the only wallet offering such a service.
Whether it’s FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto, or Multicoin Capital, they were all once the most orthodox crypto VCs in the Solana ecosystem. It can be said that at that time, the future development of Backpack looked bright. However, with the FTX collapse, the entire Solana ecosystem fell into a period of decline, and more tragically, most of the Backpack team's funds were trapped in FTX.
Backpack founder Armani Ferrante stated on The Scoop podcast that the company was unable to withdraw approximately $14.5 million in funds from FTX. Therefore, during the crisis, the company maintained operations by cutting various expenses and did not take many actions.
In April 2023, Backpack launched the first xNFT series Mad Lads in the Solana ecosystem. This NFT project gained immense popularity, with its trading volume once ranking first across the entire network, even surpassing the blue-chip NFT project BAYC in the Ethereum ecosystem.
In October 2023, Backpack announced the launch of a "regulated" exchange, Backpack Exchange, and obtained a VASP license issued by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. This marked Backpack Exchange's first formal entry into the crypto community's view.
According to information from The Wall Street Journal, Backpack Exchange was co-founded by former FTX General Counsel Can Sun and former Alameda Research software developer Armani Ferrante. It is worth mentioning that the Trek Labs, co-founded by Can Sun and Armani Ferrante, had previously obtained a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and has now been incorporated under Backpack. Meanwhile, Coral officially stated: "Backpack Exchange adopts a next-generation exchange model, utilizing zero-knowledge proof reserves (zk-proofs), multi-party computation (MPC) custody, and low-latency order execution technology." It is reported that VARA is responsible for regulating all crypto asset activities throughout Dubai.
Recent Developments: Trade to Earn Points
Recently, various communities have been discussing how to efficiently earn Backpack points, as Backpack announced on its official Twitter that it would launch an account trading volume points system on February 14, indicating that the ranking of the points system would serve as an important reference for future large marketing activities (such as airdrop qualifications or Launchpool projects).
Image source: Official Twitter
Once the news broke, Backpack's popularity surged, and crypto users began to trade vigorously on Backpack Exchange.
According to official data, after the launch of Backpack Pre Season, the trading volume exceeded $300 million within 24 hours. As of February 17, Backpack's SOL trading volume ranked first among all trading platforms for three consecutive days, with that day's SOL trading volume surpassing $700 million, while Binance's SOL trading volume was $554 million and Coinbase's was $69.74 million.
On February 19, Backpack's Chinese account posted on platform X, stating that the purpose of the trading activity was to reward real users and encourage more genuine users to experience Backpack. They would strictly monitor malicious trading volume manipulation and reserve the right to take action. The trading activity would continue long-term, and more quality projects and features would be launched for users. However, the official tweet had little effect, and many users continued to interact.
Interaction Suggestions
After Backpack's Chinese account clarified the "trade volume for airdrop" situation, how should users interact to gain potential airdrop token opportunities? Odaily Planet Daily communicated with studios, community members, and others to compile the following suggestions. Friendly reminder, the market is highly volatile, and thorough research is essential before investing.
Continue trading on Backpack Exchange to maintain account activity. Avoid making a single large trading volume spike; instead, dedicate three days a week, or even daily, to conduct several buy and sell transactions on Backpack Exchange.
Always keep funds in your wallet. The Starknet airdrop reminds us not to withdraw all the balance from our wallets to exchanges; leave some funds to prevent sudden snapshots.
Closely monitor new activities on Backpack Exchange and participate in them promptly. The official stated that this trading points activity would continue long-term, potentially lasting over a quarter or even longer. While ensuring continuous trading, pay attention to new features launched on the platform and engage with them frequently.
