Mad Lads NFTs See Growth as Parent Firm Acquires FTX Europe

Solana-based NFT project Mad Lads has benefited from the latest deal closed by its parent firm, Backpack. On January 7th, Web3 wallet provider Backpack announced that it had acquired the European office of the defunct crypto exchange FTX. The acquisition enabled Backpack to expand its operations into Europe.

Armani Ferrante and Tristan Yver, former FTX and Alameda Research employees, established Backpack, a Web3 wallet that allows users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets. In October 2023, the firm launched a crypto exchange under Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Fast-forward to this week, Backpack spent $37.7 million to purchase FTX Europe. Following its cataclysmic downfall in November 2022, FTX and its subsidiaries crashed and filed for bankruptcy protection.

Being FTX Europe’s new owner, Backpack will “return all customer EURO funds on behalf of the FTX estate.” After that, the firm intends to unveil “a full suite of spot, margin, and futures trading products” to European customers.

News about Backpack’s expansion sparked engagement for the Mad Lads NFTs. According to on-chain data from NFT Price Floor, the Solana-based NFT collection recorded 264 sales within the past week. This was accompanied by a traded volume of 20,100 SOL, representing a 261.83% increase in the same timeframe. At the time of writing, the NFT collection has a floor price of 78 SOL, marking over a 32% increase in the past seven days.

Aside from the community excitement, another factor that may be driving Mad Lads’ rapid market growth is its potential utility in the new deal. When its parent company announced its crypto exchange in Dubai, it opened the private beta to Mad Lads and existing Backpack users. Even now, the exchange still offers Mad Lads’ holders a VIP1 tag, as its co-founder confirmed.

Since its 2023 debut, Mad Lads has become the leading NFT project on the Solana network. Interestingly, it currently ranks as the 10th largest NFT collection by floor price hierarchy. Time will tell if Backpack’s new initiative will soon bring additional market growth to the cartoonish PFP collection.