February felt very different from January. Markets were heavily influenced by renewed geopolitical tensions between the USA and Iran, while global events like the Olympic Games captured mainstream attention. At the same time, the crypto space was reminded of its fragility with the sad shutdown of Step Finance, marking the end of an important chapter in the Solana ecosystem

On the broader market side, volatility picked up as uncertainty returned. Headlines once again drove sentiment, and traders had to navigate a mix of macro tension and shifting liquidity conditions. It was not a quiet month, and caution clearly dominated the mood…

Throughout it all, the Mad Lads community kept showing up. Whether reacting to ecosystem changes, supporting builders, or simply keeping the culture alive online and offline, Lads stayed engaged across every corner of Solana. Even in uncertain times, the WAO spirit remains strong!

We Are One (%)

On January 30th, Backpack announced that 25% of the token supply would be released at TGE with 24% allocated to traders and 1% to Mad Lads holders

Reactions were mixed, to say the least. Some celebrated loudly, others started fudding just as loudly. The timeline went from full hype to full skepticism in a matter of hours…

Little did the doubters know… that 1% was only part of the story

On February 23rd, Backpack dropped another major announcement: 20% of Backpack equity would be allocated to users who stake their tokens for one year

Congrats! You’re officially part of the MADDEST 1% tier

Backpack News

New Listing

February was packed with new listings, with five new trading pairs added to the Backpack Exchange. Each one arriving with its own quests and rewards to keep traders excited

ZAMA (Zama)
XMR (Monero)
PAXG (Paxos)
CC (Canton)
STRK (Starknet)

25% on TGE

Backpack’s tokenomics follow one clear principle: insiders shouldn’t be able to dump on users. No founder, employee, or VC receives liquid tokens before the product reaches true “escape velocity”

For Backpack, that goal is simple: build toward a U.S. IPO (and remember, if you stake your token for 1 year, you’ll be able to exchange them for 20% of Backpack equity)

Until then, the team doesn’t unlock tokens. In fact, no founder, executive, or investor has a direct token allocation. The team owns equity in the company, and the company holds its token allocation in a corporate treasury locked until at least one year post-IPO. No shortcuts!

On the other side, liquid tokens go to users. Every major milestone such as new regions, new products, predictions, stocks, cards etc… acts as a growth lever. Tokens unlock predictably to active users, fueling expansion the same way points powered Seasons 1–4

The model is simple: growth must always outweigh dilution

Half the world is still to be opened. Some of the biggest products are still ahead

Tax tools

Backpack has partnered with Taxbit to offer compliant digital asset tax reporting

More information will be shared in the near future

Lending

Backpack just upgraded its lending product and got a brand new page

Lend USD, BTC, ETH, SOL and more to earn yield, use those lends as collateral, trade perps, predictions, spot-margin, or borrow all from a single subaccount

With optional auto-lend, your idle balances automatically start earning while staying fully usable across the entire Backpack product suite

Yield is transparent and unsubsidized:

Stablecoin yield passed directly from the issuer
SOL & MON staking yield from Backpack validators
Borrow interest paid directly to lenders

Simple, Capital efficient, Very Backpack

Price Alerts

Small brick, but a good brick, as Armani would say

Price alerts are now live on Backpack mobile. To use them, just tap the bell icon on the trade page and set your alerts

Vault is coming

Armani got bored on a Sunday afternoon and decided to vibe-code a light mode for Backpack Exchange…

But the sneaky man had another plan… it was really just a teaser for the upcoming Vault!

Happy Chinese New Year

祝大家新年快乐！

Backpack merch (but not to grab)

In February, two amazing Backpack merch items caught my eye on the timeline… sadly, they are not available to everyone (one, you could do it too tho!)

Still, we can all enjoy admiring them, right?

Backpack Wallet Background

Did you notice? You can now use any of your NFTs as a background in your Backpack Wallet and even on the Exchange

Personalize your interface and bring your favorite NFT front and center every time you log in (even animated ones!)

Upcoming Backpack Event

Mark your calendar and secure your invitation now for the Money Motion VIP Edition, taking place in Zagreb, Croatia on March 10th

https://luma.com/dr1m232e

Mad Lads / Backpack around the world

Madrid

Spain did it again. Almost one year after their last event with La Familia, Lads and Backpack traders were invited to an exclusive VIP dinner, where they shared an amazing evening together and got an early glimpse into what the future holds for Backpack

Milano

In the previous edition, we mentioned that the MAD Tour would stop in Milan, Italy for an amazing night… and it delivered

The community enjoyed great food and drinks, connected with fellow Lads and traders, and of course made sure to grab their red Backpack before leaving the event

Taipei

If you were in Taipei on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, you definitely shouldn’t have missed the Backpack Wallet Meetup. Attendees had the chance to listen to Armani, meet the team, and grab some exclusive merch!

Hong-Kong

During Consensus, Backpack enthusiasts were able to secure a private invitation to an exclusive Backpack event

Not only did they learn more about the tokenomics and the future of Backpack, but the insights were delivered by Armani himself!

Friendly reminder, all the events can be found on https://www.madlads-hub.xyz/events-list

PODCAST CORNER 🎙️

Armani X Solana - TradFi and Crypto Are Merging Into One

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, we really appreciate it!

If you enjoyed it or found it helpful, feel free to leave a comment and share it with your friends!

Follow Backpack and Mad Lads on X.

Share

Mad News: February 2026