Crypto exchange Backpack, founded by ex-FTX and Alameda employees, raises $17 million in Series A

Backpack, a crypto exchange founded by former FTX and Alameda Research employees, raised $17 million in Series A funding. 

The web3-focused venture firm Placeholder VC led the round, which also had participation from Hashed, Robot Ventures, Amber Group, Wintermute and Selini. 

The fresh financing brings Backpack's total valuation to $120 million, the firm told Bloomberg. 

Backpack operates a crypto exchange, now available in the U.S. as of last week, as well as a digital wallet platform and NFT collection called Mad Lads. The firm was co-founded by Armani Ferrante, an early employee at the bankrupt crypto trading firm Alameda Research, and Can Sun, prior general counsel to FTX who testified in the trial against the exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Backpack is based in Dubai, where it launched its exchange after obtaining a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in October 2023. 

Mad Lads has a floor price of 185 SOL, worth around $20,700, according to the Solana NFT platform Magic Eden. 

Revision (Feb. 28, 18:12 UTC): Updated to reflect that Backpack has been available in the U.S. since Feb. 20.