Former FTX Execs to Launch New Crypto Exchange ‘Backpack’

The former general counsel of FTX and other former executives are setting up a new crypto exchange in Dubai.

Can Sun, the former general counsel of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has teamed up with other former FTX executives and Dubai-based Trek Labs to build a new crypto exchange called Backpack.

According to a Nov. 11 report from The Wall Street Journal, Sun’s new venture will be supported by Armani Ferrante, who previously worked as a software developer at Alameda Research, and Ferante’s wife Claire Zhang, who worked on Sun’s legal team at FTX.

Zhang, however, plans to transition out of her role at the firm after it successfully raises an investment round. The company is looking a raising funds that would value it at $100 million. 

Sun and Ferrante stressed that the new exchange would pay particular attention to areas where FTX was lacking, especially with regard to protecting customer funds. 

With things heating up, please be aware of phishing attacks on the rise.

Backpack will NEVER ask you for your private keys.

The only valid website URLs are in our bio. Assume anything else is a scam.

Stay safe.

— Backpack 🎒 (@xNFT_Backpack) November 11, 2023

Backpack offers a self-custody solution for user funds, which integrates a multiparty computation (MPC) feature to ensure security. The new exchange would also include a feature for users to verify the status of their funds at any given point in time.

“In a post-FTX world, you need trust and transparency to create a true alternative to the other players,” Sun told WSJ.

Backpack has been issued a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license by the regulatory authority in Dubai and plans to operate in beta-mode before it opens to the public sometime in the first quarter of 2024.

The waitlist for Backpack opened late last month, and as of Nov.4 has more than 50,000 users signed up. 

“I’m tired of CEXs selling out the industry–whether it’s curly haired criminals advocating for overly abusive DeFi rules while stealing customer deposits, or bag biased executives pretending like subcent transaction fees don’t already exist,” wrote Ferrante on X.