Backpack EU MiCA License Approved by Bank of Latvia

Steady attention without excessive speculation.

According to the regulator, its Supervision Committee approved both licenses on 27 May 2026. Backpack then went public with the milestone on 1 July. As a result, its European arm now holds three separate EU authorizations at once.

What the Bank of Latvia Approved

Latvijas Banka issued the two licenses to Trek Technologies SIA, the legal entity behind Backpack EU. According to the Bank of Latvia announcement, the decision covers both crypto services and payments.

The MiCA license authorizes four activities. Backpack EU can now custody crypto for clients, exchange crypto for funds or other tokens, execute client orders, and provide transfer services.

Custody, in practice, means the firm can hold client assets under a supervised framework. That single permission tends to matter most to institutions weighing where to park funds.

The Payment Institution license adds a separate power. Under the PSD2 framework, it lets the firm execute payments and move funds to payment accounts. In other words, crypto rails and fiat rails now sit under one roof.

Backpack EU MiCA License Completes a Triple Setup

The new Backpack EU MiCA license does not stand alone. It joins an existing MiFID II license that the company gained through its purchase of FTX EU in January 2025. That license originally came from CySEC in Cyprus.

Together, the three licenses cover distinct regulated activities. MiCA governs crypto-asset services. MiFID II governs investment and brokerage services, such as regulated derivatives. PSD2, meanwhile, governs payments.

According to Backpack’s announcement, the setup makes the firm “tri-licensed across crypto, brokerage, and payments.” Founder Armani Ferrante added that only a select few digital-asset firms hold any of the three, and even fewer hold all three.

From FTX EU to a Regulated Exchange

Backpack’s European base traces back to the collapse of FTX. In January 2025, the company bought FTX EU for roughly $32.7 million. That deal handed it the MiFID II license and a route into Europe.

Backpack then handled restitution for former FTX EU claimants before it relaunched services, according to the company. So the current tri-licensed entity grew directly out of that cleanup.

Ferrante founded Backpack in 2022. He is a Solana developer and the creator of the Anchor framework. The exchange also keeps close ties to Solana through the Mad Lads NFT collection.

What Passporting Means Across the EU

The licenses matter mainly because of passporting. Under EU rules, authorization in one member state extends across all 27, plus the wider EEA. So a Latvian license can reach the entire bloc through simple notification.

MiCA’s transitional period for existing operators ran until around 1 July 2026. Because of that deadline, many exchanges raced to secure full CASP status. Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and Bybit have each obtained MiCA approvals through various national regulators.

Latvia, meanwhile, has built a reputation as a fast MiCA jurisdiction. For Backpack, that speed offered an efficient gateway into the single market.

Trek Technologies SIA now appears in the interim EU register of authorized crypto firms, with Latvia listed as its home state. As a result, other national regulators can see the approval directly.

A Compliance Edge as MiCA Tightens

The timing gives Backpack a clear compliance story. As the MiCA deadline landed, the firm could point to a full stack of EU licenses rather than a pending application. For a company born from an FTX estate, that framing carries weight.

The Solana community welcomed the news quickly. Congratulatory posts framed the approval as a competitive moat, and Solana’s official account reacted on X. Still, critics of “license shopping” continue to question how fast some EU regulators move.

$BP Token Reacts to the News

Backpack’s native token, $BP, moved on the announcement. The Solana-based token reportedly gained as much as 7% to 24% intraday, on trading volume in the millions of dollars. Exact figures varied across sources.

$BP has a total supply of 1 billion, with roughly 250 million in circulation. Still, the company published no new user or volume targets alongside the licensing news.

Traders often price regulatory wins quickly, then wait for real product launches. So the early move may say more about sentiment than about revenue. This article is not financial advice.

What Comes Next for Backpack EU

For now, Backpack has not named go-live dates for expanded products under each license. Questions also remain about wider perpetuals trading and payment features across the bloc.

The regulatory groundwork, however, is set. With the Backpack EU MiCA license and its two sister approvals in place, the exchange can push crypto trading, brokerage, and payments to users in all 27 member states as it chooses to switch them on.