SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Backpack, a global financial institution bridging crypto with traditional financial markets, today announced the appointment of crypto venture capitalist Kyle Samani to its board of directors. Best known as the co-founder of renowned VC firm Multicoin and an early investor in Solana, Samani has been a prominent and trusted voice on decentralized finance, blockchain infrastructure, and the evolution of global capital markets.
“Kyle’s deep experience in building and shaping decentralized financial networks, paired with his longstanding advocacy for clear, workable rules for the crypto industry, makes him an ideal addition to our board,” said Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack. “Kyle shares our conviction and excitement about the opportunity that blockchain-based finance presents, and his keen understanding of what we are building makes him a natural advocate and advisor for Backpack.”
Samani is an advocate for thoughtful regulation of crypto, strengthening consumer and investor protections while enabling true innovations of blockchain, directly in line with Backpack’s compliance-first, blockchain native, and user-centric strategy. Samani is also a leading voice on the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized markets, driving discussion on the migration of institutional products onto high performing and decentralized blockchains.
“The future of global capital markets isn’t DeFi vs. Trad-Fi, it’s integrating the best of both: institutional risk-controls with on-chain efficiency and transparency,” said Kyle Samani. “I’ve been impressed with what Backpack is building since day one. Armani and his team will fundamentally change what we think we know about our global economy.”
Samani’s board appointment comes in tandem with continued momentum for Backpack following its launch of the world’s first 24/7 trading for real U.S. equities – including SpaceX, Micron, SanDisk, and, most recently, SK Hynix – and a growing suite of tokenized equities.
Samani joins an esteemed group of financial professionals with expertise across the crypto and regulatory landscape on Backpack’s board, including Dr. Michael S. Piwowar’s appointment earlier this summer. As Backpack accelerates its U.S. expansion, it has made a number of leadership and board appointments to solidify the company’s position as it establishes the regulated financial infrastructure to bridge traditional and digital assets.
About Backpack
Backpack is a crypto-native global financial institution bridging on-chain with traditional financial markets. Designed for both crypto-native and TradFi investors, Backpack aims to usher in the next generation of finance with unparalleled accessibility, utility, and compliance. The Backpack group includes a fully regulated global crypto exchange, a self-custodial wallet, as well as Backpack Securities, which combines a regulated brokerage with a complementary tokenization platform to provide investors with access to real equity ownership and blockchain-native distribution of publicly traded securities together within a single product experience.
Backpack currently serves users from over 150 countries and regions with more than $450 billion in trading volume. For more information visit https://backpack.exchange/ or @Backpack on X.
Press contact: press@backpack.exchange
