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Backpack EU - fifth Latvia MiCA CASP licence 2026
On 2026-05-27 Latvijas Banka issued Trek Technologies SIA (Backpack EU) a dual licence: MiCA CASP + payment institution. Backpack is a Solana-first crypto exchange founded by Armani Ferrante. In 2025 it acquired FTX Europe.
On 27 May 2026 Latvijas Banka's supervisory committee granted Trek Technologies SIA (the Backpack EU brand) two licences - a MiCA CASP licence and a payment institution licence. This is the fifth MiCA CASP licence in Latvia and one of very few regional CASPs with the dual MiCA + PSD2 setup. Backpack is a Solana-first crypto exchange founded in 2022 (Armani Ferrante, Tristan Yver) that acquired FTX Europe for $32.7m in 2025. We analyse what this means for the Baltic and Nordic crypto market, the Backpack EU service set, the financial context, and the prospects against current regional leaders Bitvavo, Coinmotion and Kvarn X.
On 27 May 2026 Latvijas Banka's supervisory committee granted Trek Technologies SIA two licences - a crypto-asset service provider (MiCA CASP) licence and a payment institution licence. The company operates in the EU under the Backpack EU brand and becomes the fifth MiCA CASP authorised in Latvia, and one of very few in the region with a dual MiCA + Payment Institution licence.
Context: who Backpack is
Backpack is a crypto exchange and self-custody wallet founded in 2022 by Armani Ferrante (Solana developer, creator of the Anchor framework) and Tristan Yver (former FTX executive). It started as a wallet, but after the November 2022 FTX collapse - in which Backpack lost $14.5 million, 88% of its operating funds - the team decided to build a regulated CEX from the ground up.
In April 2023 Backpack launched the Mad Lads NFT collection, which became the #1 NFT collection across all chains in its first week. In January 2025 Backpack acquired FTX Europe for $32.7 million, taking over a Cypriot MiFID II licence and the obligation to handle outstanding FTX EU customer claims. In January 2026 the product set expanded with native Grid Bots automated trading strategies.
Mid-2026 Backpack runs as a Solana-first CEX with ~$96M daily perpetual volume and ~$127M spot volume, 73 cryptocurrencies and 91 trading pairs.
What Trek Technologies SIA is
Trek Technologies SIA is a Latvia-registered company operating as Backpack Group's European arm. The choice of Latvia is not accidental - in 2024-2025 Latvijas Banka actively positioned itself as a fast-track MiCA jurisdiction with a pre-licensing consultation mechanism and Innovation Hub support. Before Backpack EU the MiCA CASP holders in Latvia were BlockBen, Paybis Europe, Neverless and one more company. Backpack EU is the fifth.
The licence process was advised by ECOVIS ProventusLaw. Ownership detail is publicly available via the Latvian Register of Enterprises and Lursoft database. Beneficial owners trace back to the Backpack Group core team - principally Armani Ferrante and early investors (Multicoin Capital, Placeholder, Race Capital).
What the MiCA CASP licence allows
Under the Latvijas Banka licence, Trek Technologies SIA may provide five crypto-asset services across the European market:
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Custody and administration | Safe custody of crypto-assets on behalf of clients with segregated account structure |
| Crypto for fiat | Buy/sell against EUR (USD, GBP later) |
| Crypto for crypto | Trading pairs between digital assets (BTC/USDC, ETH/SOL etc.) |
| Order execution | Order routing and execution on behalf of clients - market and limit orders |
| Transfers | Sending client crypto-assets to external addresses |
This is the broadest MiCA CASP service set granted in the region - many other regional CASPs (Neverless, BlockBen) initially licensed only part of the services.
Why the payment institution licence matters
Separately from MiCA, Trek Technologies SIA received a payment institution (PI) licence under the Payment Services and E-Money Act (Latvia's PSD2 equivalent). This allows the company to:
- Execute payment transactions (including transfers to payment accounts)
- Issue payment instruments
- Provide money remittance services
This dual MiCA + PSD2 licence is rare in the Baltics - so far only Paybis Europe has obtained it in Latvia. Practical meaning: Backpack EU will be able to offer integrated fiat on- and off-ramps directly within the exchange platform, without external partners (Simplex, Mercuryo). The client deposits EUR via SEPA, trades BTC or SOL, and withdraws EUR via the same Backpack platform.
What this means for Baltic and Nordic users
- EEA passporting - Backpack EU may provide services across all 30 EEA states (27 EU + Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) via the cross-border notification mechanism. Estonian, Lithuanian, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish clients will be able to use Backpack EU in local form.
- SEPA first - the expected priority is SEPA Instant rather than SWIFT - the Bitvavo and Coinmotion model.
- Solana focus - unlike Kraken or Coinbase, Backpack is a Solana-first exchange with deep integration into the SOL ecosystem (Jupiter, Marinade, Jito). For Latvian and Lithuanian Solana developers it's a local service with regulated status.
- Former FTX EU clients - Backpack EU took over the obligations of FTX Europe customer claims via the 2025 acquisition. In practice this means existing FTX EU users (including in Estonia, Finland, Sweden) may gradually migrate to the new regulated platform.
- Payments - the PI licence allows EUR payment services even outside the crypto context. Possibly Backpack Pay product expansion into the EEA market.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
- Latvijas Banka regulator with a pre-licensing consultation process - one of the best MiCA jurisdictions in the region
- Dual MiCA + PI licence is rare and gives a meaningful competitive advantage
- Tech team with Solana ecosystem DNA (Armani Ferrante, Anchor framework, Mad Lads)
- Global trading volume - $200M+ combined spot + futures daily in mid-2026
- The FTX Europe acquisition showed capital strength and institutional seriousness
Weaknesses:
- Relatively new brand for Baltic and Nordic users - weaker brand recognition than Kraken, Bitvavo, Coinbase in the region
- FTX historical associations - Tristan Yver is a former FTX executive, which some users view critically
- Solana focus is both a strength and a weakness - the region's BTC-focused traders may stay with Coinmotion, Kraken
- Competition with Kvarn X (Finland, MiCA + MiFID II) and Bitvavo (Netherlands, MiCA) - both already with a larger regional client base
- Token launch terms - the Backpack BPX token has not yet launched, which creates uncertainty around airdrop seasons and community economics
Financial context
- Backpack Group global 24h trading volume: ~$200M spot + perpetual (mid-2026)
- FTX Europe acquisition price: $32.7 million (January 2025)
- Backpack Wallet active users: more than 1m (publicly unconfirmed)
- Investors: Multicoin Capital, Placeholder, Race Capital, Tribe Capital (Series A 2024)
- Trek Technologies SIA: a new Latvian legal entity, financial filings not yet available
Bottom line
Backpack EU takes a meaningful position in the region's regulated crypto market as the fifth MiCA CASP in Latvia and the second with a dual MiCA + PI licence. The Solana-first focus and the full service set (custody, exchange, transfer, SEPA payments) make it an interesting alternative for the region's crypto-native users. For it to become a serious competitor to Bitvavo, Coinmotion or Kvarn X in the region, Backpack EU will need to actively localise the platform in Baltic and Nordic languages and prove operational stability in the first 6-12 months. Watching ahead: first SEPA deposits, local languages, and how Backpack EU positions itself against the FTX historical association.