Backpack expands as regulated perpetuals exchange in Europe FTX EU acquisition

Bitcoin derivatives trading platform Backpack EU has officially launched its regulated crypto derivatives platform in ￰0￱ move follows months of preparation, regulatory approvals, and the company’s acquisition of FTX EU, the European arm of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, earlier this ￰1￱ platform allows users to trade perpetual futures on a fully licensed exchange, making it one of the first of its kind in the ￰2￱ EU currently supports perpetuals across more than 40 trading pairs, offering leverage of up to ￰3￱ company says this is just the beginning, with additional products and trading pairs planned for the ￰4￱ and CEO Armani Ferrante said the launch is a significant milestone for the ￰5￱ team had already delivered on its promise to refund former FTX EU customers , and it was time for them to work on their new path: building a regulatory-compliant trading ￰6￱ said it was the beginning of a new era for the company and crypto in Europe, adding that the platform aims to provide Europeans with a safer and more transparent ￰7￱ launch comes at a time when global regulators are increasingly tightening rules around digital asset trading, particularly derivatives and leveraged ￰8￱ builds on regulatory approval and customer refunds Operating under the brand name Trek Labs Europe, Backpack EU is regulated under the MiFID II ￰9￱ was reissued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in June ￰10￱ license had been suspended in late 2022 when FTX collapsed , which led to FTX EU shutting ￰11￱ reinstate its approval, Backpack paid a settlement with CySEC of €200,000 (approximately $235,000).

The payment ended the regulator’s investigation into “possible violations” related to the former FTX ￰12￱ EU will be technically licensed to provide derivatives and other investment products throughout the ￰13￱ company assumed responsibility for refunding the former customers of FTX EU earlier this ￰14￱ company initiated a claims process in May 2025 and checked identities for ￰15￱ midsummer, customers began to get their refund checks, which helped build confidence before the new exchange went ￰16￱ opens new chapter for Europe’s crypto market The arrival of Backpack EU is one more sign that Europe is becoming a hub for regulated crypto ￰17￱ the ￰18￱ parts of Asia grapple with unclear rules and enforcement battles, the European Union has set up clearer guardrails through its MiFID II framework and the forthcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

This degree of regulation certainty allows companies like Backpack to conduct business legally in several EU ￰19￱ futures are still among the most traded products in crypto, enabling traders to bet on the direction of prices with ￰20￱ seeks to marry high-volume products with compliance safety by offering these contracts with strict supervision. Backpack’s leaders have said that the lessons of the wreckage of FTX loomed large in their ￰21￱ of using it as an excuse to grow unchecked at all costs or arbitrage its existence from an offshore refuge beyond regulation, the company aims to show that crypto exchanges can be conducted transparently, held accountable, and gain full ￰22￱ focus could also restore faith in an industry already tarnished by well-publicized ￰23￱ license, customer payouts made, trading operational, Backpack EU is determined to become a trading platform.

It’s being marketed as a “trust-first” gateway for crypto derivatives in Europe, a region that may emerge as the global model for regulated digital-asset markets. Don’t just read crypto ￰24￱ ￰25￱ to our newsletter. It's free .