1 week ago
FTX EU, the European limb of Sam Bankman Fried’s now-bankrupt cryptocurrency trading empire, has been sold to Backpack Exchange, a crypto trading institution founded by erstwhile Alameda Research and FTX employees.
FTX EU, which held a MiFID II-license nether the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), outgo Backpack $32.7 million, the speech said.
Backpack’s caller European limb volition connection a afloat suite of crypto derivatives passim the EU, starting retired by capitalizing connected its presumption arsenic the lone regulated perpetual futures supplier crossed Europe, according to Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack Exchange.
A fig of crypto trading firms person applied for a MiFID license, which allows firms to besides connection crypto-asset services nether Europe’s caller Markets successful Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime, erstwhile a notification has been provided to the applicable competent nationalist authority.
Currently, Bitstamp and Coinbase person received their MiFID II licenses, portion D2X, based successful the Netherlands, has besides received a licence and plans to present USD-denominated futures and options aboriginal this year. Other new entrants besides purpose to displacement the crypto derivatives marketplace dominance distant from the likes of Panama-based centralized speech Deribit.
Backpack’s Ferrante said the firm’s MiCA notification has been submitted and helium expects to spell unrecorded successful the archetypal 4th of 2025.
“Even though a fewer firms person been capable to get support for a constricted signifier of a derivatives license, we’re not alert of immoderate players that presently connection perpetuals and are unrecorded successful the EU, including Coinbase and Bitstamp,” Ferrante said via email. “Once we instrumentality FTX EU customers' funds, we’re excited to statesman serving a regulated perpetual futures merchandise arsenic a priority.”
A afloat suite of products is being worked on, Ferrante added, though immoderate of these whitethorn not rotation retired successful Q1.
Backpack, whose founders person contributed to the Solana ecosystem and established a palmy wallet and NFT business, raised $17 cardinal in backing past year.
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