Mad News: March 2025
March Madness... from NYSE to Season 1
March was packed with madness—interviews, new features, and nonstop community energy. From Armani’s media marathon to the official launch of Backpack Exchange Season 1, the Lads showed up in full force.
Alpha Everywhere: Armani’s Podcast Marathon
Armani Ferrante kicked off the month by dropping Mad Merch teases in every interview. The first was with Jacquelyn Melinek, co-founder and CEO of Token Relations—a company bridging the gap between blockchain projects and their communities—where we caught a glimpse of the “Fock it.” bomber jacket.
Right after, we found out that Armani had recorded an interview with Coinage Media, a community-owned outlet tackling big questions in crypto.
Armani sat down for an interview with Suki, breaking down the vision behind Backpack and Mad Lads. And, of course, he was rocking the Fock It jacket!
We told you March was packed with interviews! Armani also had a conversation with Mable Jiang for episode 52 of his podcast “Backpack and Its Multi-Cycle Ambition”.
Can you spot the Backpack during Armani’s interview with Skyline, the Solana’s ecosystem hub in the heart of NYC?
Bonnie Blockchain had the pleasure of chatting with Armani for over an hour. A great reminder: real growth doesn’t happen in just one bull-bear cycle. Patience is key—no need to rush!
The most iconic moment, complete with images that should be the cover of The New York Times, was the interview with Remy Blaire at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
NYSE is the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization. Founded in 1792 and located on Wall Street in New York City, it serves as a global hub for trading stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.
Backpack Validator launches $bpSOL
Stake right now using the new LST Token from Backpack, the $bpSOL! With 0% Commission and 0% MEV Commission it is currently sitting at an APY of 9.67%
You can learn more about the Backpack validator with this interview featuring Gonzalo (MadMonkey) and Sanctum
Backpack introduces Season 1
Get your Backpack Exchange account ready… Season 1 is about to kick off! In April’s Mad News, we’ll break down the first few weeks of the season and how to get involved!
If you need any help to setup your Backpack Exchange account, you ask for help in the Backpack Discord, on the Backpack Exchange Help Center, or you can follow the guide on Mad Lads Hub by @chocoo_web3.
General News
La Familia
La Familia, a Spanish community, hosted their first major event around Solana in Madrid, and it was absolutely INSANE! Mikel, the head behind growing Backpack Exchange in Europe, was a speaker there.
Mad Lads riding Monad Testnet
The Mad Lads community has been the most active during the Monad Testnet, with many holders launching their own Testnet mints. All of them received massive support from Lads, strengthening the relation between our community members
Play Mad Survivor
There is a new category on the Mad Lads Culture Hub by @chocoo_web3 called “mini-games”. Try it now and share your best score on X!
Lads Follow Lads
@jordanmitchel started a X list of Lads to follow, make sure to take a look at it!
PODCAST CORNER 🎙️
Alongside the many interviews and podcasts from Armani and the team, Backpack co-founder Tristan Yver has been building out content for his Y-Axis podcast.
Dan Matuszewksi: Bitcoin, Stablecoins, ETFs, Crypto Trading & Market Structure
James Hunsaker: Monad, Start Ups, Engineering, Hiring & Community
Arnold Lee - Sphere, Payments, Solana, Growth & Hiring
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!
