Backpack crypto exchange’s success is a testament to a maturing industry: Founder
The success of the recently launched Backpack cryptocurrency exchange was a testament to a maturing crypto industry that demands more trustworthy exchanges, Armani Ferrante, the founder and CEO of Backpack, told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview on Feb. 27.
“What we saw was ultimately just validation of the thesis that the world needs a new trustworthy crypto exchange,” he said.
Backpack surpassed $1 billion in 24-hour volume on Feb. 18, within four days of the launch of its trading pre-season. The exchange’s daily trading volume was down 6.4% to $296 million in the 24 hours leading up to 4:30 pm UTC on Feb. 27, according to CoinGecko data.
Crypto investors are demanding more transparent solutions, following black swan events in both decentralized finance protocols and legacy financial institutions during the past two years, Ferrante told Cointelegraph, adding:
“We’re at this inflection point in the industry where we’re rising out of the ashes of FTX, as you mentioned, but also bringing the industry into a more mature state. This includes everything from security to compliance and building deserved trust with the world.”
Several large regional banks collapsed in the United States in 2023, including Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank. Over in Switzerland, Credit Suisse, which was the country’s second-largest bank, collapsed in March. Credit Suisse was acquired by the country’s central bank, UBS, on March 19 in an effort by Swiss authorities to avert a banking sector meltdown.
According to Ferrante, crypto can vastly improve on the shortcomings of legacy financial products, which is something that the founder will be aiming to accelerate in the future. He said:
“We’re excited to bring to the world a lot of the real tangible benefits of blockchain technology to build next-generation financial infrastructure. We have a big opportunity, and I think a lot of it has already been validated.”
Ferrante added that the exchange is also focused on global expansion. Backpack received a virtual asset service provider license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in October 2023. The Solana-based exchange bagged many other operational licenses across several jurisdictions worldwide in the last half of 2023.
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