TechFlow news — On January 7, according to The Block, compliant cryptocurrency exchange platform Backpack announced today the successful acquisition of the former FTX Europe business holding a license under the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II). The acquisition has been approved by the FTX bankruptcy court and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), marking a significant step for Backpack in its global expansion and delivering secure, compliant trading solutions to the European market. Backpack EU is expected to officially launch in the first quarter of 2025.
Through this acquisition, Backpack EU will offer a full suite of crypto spot and derivatives services across the EU, including perpetual contracts. Currently, due to the enforcement of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and stricter regulatory oversight, several unlicensed offshore exchanges have been forced to shut down their derivatives operations in Europe. Backpack has now become the only operating entity in the EU authorized to provide crypto derivatives services, including perpetual contracts. As a developed economy, the EU region accounts for 20–30% of the total trading volume on major crypto platforms globally. The license obtained by Backpack EU is equivalent to those held by traditional investment banks in Europe, paving the way for future expansion into traditional financial services such as stocks and bonds within the region.
As part of the acquisition, Backpack EU will also assume responsibility for distributing bankruptcy claim payouts to former FTX EU users. Earlier FTX bankruptcy filings revealed that FTX EU had at least 110,000 retained users. In addition to offering compliant products and services, Backpack EU will enable seamless integration with traditional payment systems, including instant, low-cost Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfers and bank transfers in major local currencies across the region.
The Backpack ecosystem includes Backpack Exchange, Backpack Wallet, and Mad Lads—the top-ranked NFT collection in the Solana ecosystem. In February last year, Backpack raised $17 million in a Series A strategic funding round at a $120 million valuation, led by Placeholder and joined by Hashed, Robot Ventures, Amber Group, Wintermute, Jump Crypto, Selini Capital, Delphi Digital, and others.
