Solana-Based NFT Wallet App Backpack to Launch Cryptocurrency Exchange in Dubai
Backpack, the Solana-based NFT wallet app, is set to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in Dubai and has brought on former FTX general counsel Can Sun to lead the exchange. As a result, Solana’s Mad Lads NFT project has seen a significant increase in price.
Sun will head Trek Labs, the Dubai-based startup connected to Backpack and its creator Coral. This news follows Sun’s testimony against ex-boss Sam Bankman-Fried in the U.S. government’s fraud trial against the FTX co-founder and former CEO. Sun cooperated with prosecutors and signed a non-prosecution agreement.
Trek Labs is planning to sell a 10% stake of the company to investors at a valuation above $100 million. Coral co-founder and CEO Armani Ferrante is listed as a minority shareholder in Trek Labs, with his wife Claire Zhang also holding a stake.
In October, Trek Labs obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to launch a regulated exchange in the country. The Mad Lads NFT project on Solana has experienced a surge in price amid rising demand for NFTs, with NFTs currently starting at a price of 82.37 SOL on secondary marketplaces.
Hot Take: Mad Lads NFTs Surge as Backpack Prepares to Launch Exchange
The recent developments surrounding Backpack and its associated NFT project, Mad Lads, have caused a significant increase in demand and prices for these digital assets. With Trek Labs opening beta signups for the upcoming exchange exclusively for Mad Lads NFT holders, it’s clear that there is growing anticipation and interest in this space.