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Former staff of FTX and Alameda Analysis have secured $17 million to ascertain Backpack, a cryptocurrency trade. They’re among the many companies trying to fill the void left by the demise of their earlier employer, Sam Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency group.
Backpack is valued at $120 million after finishing a Collection A funding spherical; The corporate's merchandise additionally embody an NFT assortment and a cryptocurrency pockets, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Placeholder VC, a enterprise capital agency specializing in Web3S, led the spherical, which additionally participated in Hashed, Robotic Ventures, Ember Group, Wintermute, and Cellini.
Bloomberg: FTX, Alameda Alums Elevate $17M For Crypto Trade Startup.
– Crypto Crib (@Crypto_Crib_) 28 February 2024
Backpack: The way forward for crypto after FTX decline?
Practically a 12 months after FTX's demise, Armani Ferrante and Can Solar co-founded Backpack, which launched in October final 12 months. Ferrante was an early worker of Alameda and now serves as CEO of Backpack; He has been a very long time contributor to Solana.
As normal counsel of FTX, Solar supplied testimony as a authorities witness within the Sam Bankman-Fried fraud scheme. He claimed to be unaware of the corporate's improper use of shoppers' cryptocurrencies and cash. 5 of Backpack's 40 staff are ex-FTX staff.
Ferrante, Solar, and their crew have efficiently charted a brand new path regardless of the lingering results of their previous relationships. They’ve amassed a world person base of over 420,000 verified followers and have obtained the extremely sought-after Digital Asset Service Supplier license in Dubai.
Bitcoin is now buying and selling at $63.146. Chart: TradingView.com
Backpack runs a cryptocurrency trade that has now been out there in the US since final week. It additionally runs the Mad Lads NFT assortment and a digital pockets platform.
Ferrante emphasised that beginning a Bitcoin trade as we speak could be very completely different from beginning one a 12 months or two in the past. He believes that the requirements for a lot of these initiatives have elevated considerably, particularly because the FTX catastrophe.
Backpack is the most recent in a sequence of recent ventures which have emerged to capitalize on the alternatives left by the collapse of FTX. Launched final 12 months, edX Markets is now increasing into Singapore with the backing of Citadel Securities and Constancy Digital Property. Monetary establishments have been the first goal of RuleMatch's December launch in Europe.
Replace on the Sam Bankman-Fried case
In one other improvement, authorized counsel to Sam Bankman-Fried, who based now-bankrupt cryptocurrency trade FTX, stated this week that his consumer ought to serve a most of six and a half years in jail as a substitute of the hundred years advised by probation officers. . , He described the previous crypto wunderkind as “a misunderstood first-time offender.”
In the meantime, Bankman-Fried is making astonishing claims whereas in jail. After being discovered responsible of crimes associated to the demise of FTX, he has been detained within the Metropolitan Detention Heart in Brooklyn since final summer time awaiting sentencing.
Bankman-Fried has been selling Solana (SOL) investments whereas in jail, in keeping with folks with information of the scenario.
Citing his “autism”, the previous mogul has expressed his honest apology for the $8 billion rip-off and has urged the decide to scale back his sentence to a most of six and a half years.
On March 15, federal prosecutors will launch their advisable sentence size; The sentence will likely be pronounced on March 28.
Featured picture from Pexels, chart from TradingView