Recently, there hasn't been any significant direction in the market. I spent some time carefully reviewing the materials from @Backpack, simply treating it as a "research note that I can understand for myself" and also comparing it with the old ideas of traditional exchanges. In the past, when I used exchanges, I was completely using them in a "rough and ready" manner.
Spot trading on one side, contract trading on another side, and a wealth management area opened next to it,
Every time there is a new opportunity, the first thing to do is not to place an order, but to transfer funds between a few accounts first.
After a long time, I found a very awkward phenomenon:
The positions seem numerous, but the actual money that is "at work" is not much.
What's more troublesome is that once a contract is opened, the mindset can become very fragmented.
Sometimes it clearly shows a profit on the books,
But the floating profit is locked in the position and cannot be used.
I want to point out that you either close the position or borrow money;
When losing, I worry about the platform suddenly dropping the price one day.
Just sell my BTC and SOL that are used as collateral.
During that time, I started to think about a question in reverse:
"If we treat the exchange as an 'asset operating system',
What should it look like instead of a 'order placement interface'?
Later, while looking at the information about Backpack, I discovered their design philosophy.
Basically, it's about breaking down this question further:
From the perspectives of capital efficiency, account structure, and risk control compliance,
Try to redo "How Money Works in the Exchange."
Let me go through the core of the Backpack product as I understand it, based on this idea.
1. Team's Starting Point: First, clarify what problem you want to solve.
@Backpack The starting point of this line is actually quite clear:
The problem Armani sees is:
There is no "deposit and withdrawal entrance" in the industry that is as compliant as a bank and as convenient as a good wallet.
But users have become accustomed to the Web2 experience (simple, unified entry),
At the same time, there should be autonomy and transparency in Web3 (self-custody, verifiable on-chain).
So their path is:
It's not about first creating an "exchange interface",
Instead, treat the wallet + account system as the foundation, and then layer trading, earnings, lending, and risk control on top.
In a nutshell:
It is more like a "unified wallet-type financial operating system" with an exchange conveniently attached to it.
2. Core Product 1: Capital Utilization Efficiency (Keep funds from being idle)
My own experience on other CEXs before is that:
Although there is a lot of money lying around, most of the time it is just sitting idle—
A spot account
Contract margin one piece
A financial management account
Money earns interest here, so it cannot be used as margin there.
The design of the Backpack is reversed:
All assets automatically enter the lending pool and earn interest (Auto-Lend) by default.
You no longer need to transfer money to the "investment area" specifically; just lying there will earn you money.
The same amount of money serves as both margin and earns interest.
No longer distinguish between "wealth management account" and "exchange account".
Instead, it is a unified fund pool, and the risk control engine calculates based on overall risk.
Profit and loss are automatically settled to USDC every 10 seconds.
Floating profit is not just for show; it will continuously be settled into usable balance.
The USDC after settlement can be traded, withdrawn, or continue to earn interest in the lending pool.
This will make capital turnover much smoother for high-frequency traders and day traders.
Losses are primarily covered by borrowing USDC instead of selling the collateral coins.
On some platforms, if the margin is insufficient, a common solution is to directly sell your BTC/SOL to fill the gap.
The logic of Backpack is to prioritize borrowing USDC and to keep the collateral assets as "untouched" as possible.
This design is quite friendly for users who hold coins for the long term and also want to use coins as collateral.
Overall, its goal is:
With the same amount of money, try to do three things at the same time:
When margin, earning interest, and assuming profits and losses.
3. Core Product 2: Account Structure - From "Multiple Accounts" to "A Single Capital Pool"
The structure of traditional exchanges is familiar to everyone: spot, contracts, leverage, and wealth management are divided into a bunch of small boxes,
Want to try a different way, first transfer internally for a while.
Backpack is:
Just one cross-margin wallet
Spot, futures, lending, and yield are all linked in the same liquidity pool.
Multi-asset collateralization, unified risk control
The advantages are quite straightforward:
No need to move back and forth between spot/contract/wealth management.
All products share a set of liquidity and margin.
When making strategies, the capital view is complete, and there's no need to switch between several pages to add up the totals.
The official design logic is more inclined towards a "unified multi-asset trading system":
A wallet, an asset pool, connecting different products.
For those who are accustomed to multi-strategy and multi-variety operations, this structure is closer to a professional trading terminal.
4. Core Product 3: Risk Control + Compliance + Reserve Proof
I'll just pick a few key points to talk about, roughly speaking.
1) Price and liquidation protection
Backpack has implemented a price protection mechanism on perpetual contracts, which generally includes:
Multi-layer marked price logic: Use index price + 5-minute weighted (EWMA) to smooth extreme quotes.
Limit Band / Impact Band: Restrict outrageous prices for orders to reduce the instant smashing through of depth by large orders.
Premium range constraint: preventing extreme premiums/discounts from directly affecting the liquidation trigger point.
Clearing prioritizes the order book, and if insufficient, it will be taken over by Backstop LP.
The purpose is simple:
Minimize the situation where "a mysterious needle cleans out a person's position" as much as possible, making prices and liquidation paths more predictable.
2) Global Compliance
Backpack operates with multi-regional licensing:
UAE VARA
Japan FSA
US State MTL
European MiFID II etc.
means:
It does not only serve a small area but covers a larger part of the global economy.
Custody, risk control, and asset segregation are not only internal standards but also need to meet regulatory requirements.
The most direct meaning of compliance for ordinary users:
In the worst-case scenario, there are real-world regulatory frameworks and legal avenues for accountability, rather than relying solely on "platform self-discipline."
3) Proof of Reserves (PoR)
Many platforms also provide reserve proofs, but the rhythm is usually "daily / weekly snapshots."
Backpack emphasizes "real-time PoR":
Real-time synchronization of reserves and user liabilities
Refresh every hour
Support independent verification and on-chain validation
Instead of manually exporting reports, create a continuously public ledger view.
This is more of a "transparency infrastructure":
For those who are making long-term asset allocations, it will significantly enhance their subjective sense of security and trust.
5. Future direction of the product: Moving from exchange to "Unified Financial Infrastructure"
From their publicly available information, there are a few routes worth noting separately:
Strategy-based Vault product
Use different strategy combinations to manage funds.
The goal is: predictable returns + controllable risks, rather than "guessing financial management".
Real US stock trading
Stocks certified by the SEC
Connect traditional securities with on-chain accounts to create a unified entry point.
prediction market
Transform market expectations into tradable assets
For those who enjoy event trading and sentiment trading, there will be a new tool.
Overall, what Backpack wants to do is not just a "high-efficiency contract exchange,"
but rather a "wallet-centered multi-asset financial platform",
Capital efficiency, risk control, compliance, and asset transparency are all placed on the same table.
@Backpack Its core selling point is not "one more exchange",
Instead, it is "after putting the money in, the efficiency and transparency of the entire lifecycle is one level higher than traditional CEX."
Whether it is suitable for personal use depends on individual habits and risk preferences.
But in terms of product structure and mechanism design, this system has its own clear ideas.
Unlike many platforms that simply repackage the old model and push it again.
