Backpack US appoints Solana investor Kyle Samani

Backpack US appoints Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, to its board of directors

Backpack US appointed Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, to its board of directors on September 2. The company is expanding its regulated financial services in the United States.

Summary

Backpack US appointed Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani to its board of directors on Wednesday. Samani quit the day-to-day management of Multicoin in February, but still retains an advisory relationship. He currently serves as chairman of Forward Industries, a publicly traded company that is pursuing the Solana treasury strategy. Backpack said the appointment will support its expansion in regulated and on-chain financial markets in the United States. Backpack reports that its services cover users in more than 150 countries and process more than US$450 billion in transactions.

Samani was an early investor in Solana and a long-time supporter of blockchain-based capital markets. He stepped down from the day-to-day management of Multicoin Capital in February 2026, but retained an advisory relationship with the venture capital firm. The appointment gives Samani a governance role at Backpack US, rather than an executive position. Backpack did not disclose its tenure, remuneration, committee appointments or specific responsibilities. [TAG

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante said Samani's experience in decentralized networks and cryptocurrency regulation makes him the right advisor. Ferrante said Samani understood the company's plans to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain infrastructure.

Samani brings Solana and venture capital experience

Samani co-founded Multicoin Capital in 2017 and helped the company become an early institutional investor in Solana. Multicoin has also invested in projects focusing on decentralized finance, blockchain infrastructure and cryptocurrency transactions. Samani announced in February that he was withdrawing from day-to-day management of Multicoin and said he planned to explore other technology areas while continuing to advise the company.

He is also currently chairman of Forward Industries, a publicly traded company that is pursuing the Solana treasury strategy. Forward adopted this strategy after completing a $1.65 billion private placement led by Multicoin, Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto in 2025. The strategy aims to increase the company's exposure to SOL and expand its SOL holdings per share. These goals are company goals, not guaranteed results.

Samani's position at Forward Industries gives him experience overseeing public companies that hold digital asset treasuries and allows him to maintain a close connection with the Solana ecosystem, which is at the heart of Backpack's many products. Backpack did not say how to handle possible conflicts of interest arising from Samani's positions in Forward and Multicoin, nor did it disclose whether he would recuse himself from decisions involving Multicoin portfolio companies.

Backpack US focuses on regulated financial products

Backpack claims to be a financial services group that connects the cryptocurrency market with traditional finance. Its products include cryptocurrency exchanges, self-managed wallets and Backpack Securities. The company said Backpack Securities combines a regulated brokerage business with a tokenization platform. The goal is to provide traditional securities and blockchain-based asset allocation services, making both available in the same product environment.

Backpack did not specify the U.S. licenses held by each group entity in its appointment announcement, nor did it provide registration numbers or explain which entity is responsible for brokerage, custody, tokenization and transaction execution. Companies that provide securities brokerage services in the United States typically need to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and become members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority unless exemptions apply. Therefore, as Backpack expands its service, its specific registration status should be subject to official regulatory records.

The company has followed a regulated expansion strategy in Europe. Backpack acquired FTX EU and is responsible for returning funds to eligible original customers. The company subsequently resolved questions about the acquisition of FTX EU. Backpack then launched its European exchange through a Cyprus entity that operates under the framework of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. The expansion gives the company regulated channels to provide cryptocurrency derivatives to eligible European customers.

Stock trading supports Backpack's broad strategy

Backpack said Samani's appointment came after it launched continuous trading in multiple equity products. The company lists assets such as SpaceX, Micron, SanDisk and SK Hynix that are available through its services. The company describes its products as trading "real" stocks against a growing combination of tokenized stocks. However, the announcement did not fully explain the execution venue, custody structure, settlement system or shareholder rights for each product.

These differences are important because traditional stocks, tokenized stocks, and price tracking tools do not always provide the same rights. Depending on the structure, investors may not be able to obtain direct voting rights, dividend claims or ownership of the underlying securities. Other encryption platforms are also developing similar services. Kraken recently launched more than 7000 traditional U.S. stocks for its eligible European clients, while also offering its tokenized xStocks product. Kraken also allows eligible traders to use certain tokenized stocks as collateral for futures and margin transactions. This development reflects increasing competition among cryptocurrency companies to combine securities exposure with blockchain-based trading systems.

Samani said the future of capital markets lies in combining "institutional risk control with on-chain efficiency and transparency." His comments represent his judgment of the direction of the market, rather than confirmation of Backpack products.

Board appoints to support Backpack's U.S. expansion

Samani also joined the board of directors including former acting chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Michael Piwowar, who was appointed by Backpack in early 2026. These appointments add experience in venture capital, listed company and securities supervision to Backpack's governance structure. Backpack said the addition of leadership will support the creation of regulated infrastructure that connects traditional and digital assets. The company has not announced new product approvals or regulatory licenses it received as a result of Samani's appointment.

The company reports that it serves customers in more than 150 countries and regions and processes more than US$450 billion in transactions. These data are from Backpack and did not include independent audit breakdown data in the board announcement. Backpack has not provided a specific timetable for the expansion of its U.S. equity or tokenized asset services, nor has it disclosed whether Samani's appointment is related to specific product launches, acquisitions or licensing applications.

The next updates will cover Backpack's U.S. registration, customer qualification rules and product structure. Further disclosures may clarify which entities are responsible for securities enforcement, custody and token issuance. Prior to this, the appointment represented governance steps in support of Backpack's established U.S. strategy and did not in itself confirm regulatory clearance for additional securities or tokenized asset products.