According to The Wall Street Journal, Kang Swan, former general counsel for FTX, will be leading a new cryptocurrency exchange called Backpack.
This comes after Swan testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX who is now facing legal trouble for his collapsed platform.
Swan stated in court that he was not aware of Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent activities and resigned the day after he became aware of the extent of the problems.
Swan has now teamed up with former legal and compliance colleagues, as well as Alameda Research engineer Armani Ferrante, to found Backpack. Previously, the company had obtained a VARA license through Trek Labs.
Claire Zhang, who was Sawn’s deputy at FTX, is now one of the directors of Backpack.
The team is aiming for a valuation of $100 million, based on selling a 10% stake in the platform, according to WSJ. The beta version of the site is set to launch in late November, with a general public launch scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
It was revealed in April that Coral, a startup founded by Ferrante, had lost most of the $20 million raised during an investment round with FTX.
