Backpack, the Web3 wallet firm behind the Mad Lads non-fungible token (NFT) collection, announced today that it is launching a cryptocurrency exchange after receiving a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). 

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Fast Facts

  • VARA’s virtual asset service provider (VASP) license allows firms to offer crypto services to qualified investors and institutional customers in Dubai.  
  • Dubbed Backpack Exchange, the trading platform will launch its beta version next month and open for the general public in the first quarter of 2024, Backpack announced in a press release on Tuesday.
  • The platform will use zero-knowledge proofs, a verification method that will be used to validate the exchange’s reserves. Backpack said it will also use multi-party computation, a security protocol that allows multiple entities to custody assets, as well as low latency trading, an algorithmic trading process designed for faster executions. 
  • Backpack said has secured additional operational licenses in other jurisdictions over the past months.
  • Backpack’s Solana-based NFT collection Mad Lads sales rose 357% in the 24 hours leading up to 9:20 p.m. in Hong Kong, to US$588,856, according to CryptoSlam. Despite the sales increase, the Forkast SOL NFT Composite fell 1.59% to 607.02 points.

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