Backpack founder and CEO Armani Ferrante has implemented a tokenomics structure that excludes the founding team and investors from direct token allocation. The exchange disclosed the framework on February 9, 2026, calling it an alternative approach to standard token warrant arrangements that typically give insiders a significant share of supply.
The Backpack token has a total supply of 1 billion. At the Token Generation Event, 250 million tokens were distributed: 240 million to points participants who earned rewards through platform use, and 10 million to holders of Mad Lads, an NFT collection linked to the Backpack ecosystem. The remaining 75% of supply is split into two tranches of 375 million tokens each.
The first tranche unlocks gradually as the company achieves growth milestones, including regulatory progress and new product launches. The second tranche is tied to a potential US IPO and remains locked in the corporate treasury for at least one year following any such listing. The token launched on March 23, 2026, with 25% of supply already distributed.
Ferrante's rationale for excluding insider token allocation centers on eliminating the advantage that token warrants typically provide. Under conventional warrant structures, insiders can sell tokens into retail demand at favorable prices. By allocating no tokens or warrants to founders, executives, and investors, Backpack ties insider wealth directly to company equity performance rather than token trading.
The exchange is pairing the token with staking programs that offer fee discounts to users who participate. Additionally, up to 20% of the company's equity pool is connected to the pre-IPO tokens, creating a mechanism to convert tokens into company equity.
Backpack lost approximately $14.5 million, roughly 90% of its capital at the time, in the 2022 collapse of FTX. The company later purchased FTX Europe in January 2025 for $32.7 million and reached unicorn status that same month at a valuation of $1 billion.
