UPtober? Mmh… not really. October 10th turned out to be a rough day across the markets, with over $19B liquidated in crypto and a major dip in traditional stocks. In this article, we’ll discover more about what happened that day
But since a single day doesn’t define a whole month, October still delivered plenty of exciting moments: the launch of the Monad airdrop checker, multiple new listings on Backpack Exchange and support for HyperVM, Plasma and Aptos directly in your Backpack wallet. There was also a wild night when one Lad got airdropped 7 Lads all thanks to a tweet!
The Mad Lads community continued to make its mark both online and offline. Between creative content on X and strong representation at global events, the Lads proved once again that their presence across the ecosystem is unmatched and that they are truely MAD
Mad Lads creativity
This month, we saw plenty of creative Lads lighting up the timeline. Some explored the power of AI, others got hands-on with crafts and a few simply shared the beauty of the world around them
https://x.com/ngbackpack/status/1974396970963021951
https://x.com/odunugal/status/1976031304882978819
https://x.com/Backpack/status/1974083248641995138
https://x.com/armaniferrante/status/1974412506304274621
https://x.com/swasti_art/status/1979169951723274625
Backpack News
New Listing
Backpack Exchange was packed this month with new listings, rank drops, and exciting quests. Brick by brick, Backpack is establishing itself as the go-to centralized exchange for traders around the world
OG (0G Labs)
XPL (Plasma)
HYPE (Hyperliquid)
APEX (ApeX)
2Z (DoubleZero)
MNT (Mantle)
BNB (BNB Chain)
W (Wormhole)
PIPE (Pipe Network)
KMNO (Kamino Finance)
JTO (Jito)
LDO (Lido Finance)
ZEC (Zcash)
Wallet Network
Backpack Wallet now seamlessly supports three new networks, giving you even more ways to experience Web3 all from one app. No need to juggle multiple wallets or deal with bridges and extra steps. Keep it simple. Keep it Backpack
Aptos
Plasma
HyperVM
BNB Chain
Backpack x Titan
Backpack has teamed up with Titan to bring you the most powerful and efficient in-wallet swap feature ever built on Solana
You probably already know there are several ways to swap tokens on Solana, through various methods such as:
In-wallet swaps
Jupiter
Orca
DFlow
SpiderSwap
...and more
Usually, in-wallet swaps get a bad reputation. Wallets (we won’t say names) add extra fees on top of each swap, which is why most traders prefer aggregators like Jupiter, known for finding the best price routes across the ecosystem with low fees
So, how do aggregators work? They search multiple liquidity sources across Solana to find the best route for your trade, but they often charge a small fee for that service
That’s where Titan changes the game!
Titan developed its own advanced algorithm called Argos, which finds better swap routes and prices 80% of the time compared to other aggregators. And now, Backpack’s in-wallet swap is powered by Titan
What does that mean for you?
No hidden fees
Best routes and quotes automatically applied
No need to leave the wallet
In short: you’re no longer losing money by swapping directly inside Backpack. You’re getting Titan-level performance which are fast, transparent, and optimized for the best deal every time
Early users were able to earn the Backpack Badge by performing swaps. While that specific badge is no longer available, you can still use Titan to make swaps, collect new badges, and climb their leaderboard
Backpack a.k.a the Volume Beast
Backpack Exchange is currently ranked #18 on CoinGecko’s CEX leaderboard by 7-day trading volume. This is already impressive, but what’s even crazier is the growth behind those numbers
On October 3, Backpack closed Week 3 of Season 3 with a $2.5B 24h trading volume. Just three days later, it hit $3B, and by the end of Week 4, it reached an incredible $4.5B in daily volume
Still doubting Backpack? Maybe it’s time to open the app…
Real Stock in your Backpack
Backpack has partnered with Superstate, a regulated asset manager building real-world financial products directly onchain. Their mission? To bring traditional finance into the blockchain safely and compliantly
So what does this actually mean? Investors will soon be able to trade real, SEC-registered shares of public companies (not synthetic versions or token wrappers) directly onchain through Backpack
In short: you’ll be able to access and trade actual stocks listed on exchanges like Nasdaq and NYSE, but with 24/7 availability, instant settlement, and onchain transparency all from your Backpack wallet
This collaboration represents a major step forward in merging TradFi and Web3, making Backpack the first platforms to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional equity markets
https://x.com/Backpack/status/1978471294502162607
Built different
Some Backpack traders are just built different…
One of them even hit the maximum level for BTC-PERP volume, which was capped at an insane $200M
https://x.com/lerolwen/status/1973391012962983963
Mad Lads around the world
You probably know since many months that Mad Lads community never rests and never hide. Every month, every week, we see Mad Lads at events, repping their merch or being on stage… and of course this month too!
aPriori x Backpack - Seoul
https://x.com/aPriori/status/1973022443506696556
qimei somewhere around the globe
https://x.com/Qimeiluo/status/1972528499874533414
Lads in Madrid
https://x.com/CarreNFT/status/1974457507004444924
Backpack x DoubleZero
https://x.com/muhnkee/status/1972189250683806001
Long or Short?
https://x.com/Miiiho420/status/1980539618471924097
From a Trump announcement to a liquidation cascade
On October 10, the crypto market imploded. Within hours, nearly $19 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out. The largest liquidation cascade in history
What began as a simple tariff headline became a chain reaction that exposed the fragility of modern crypto markets: brittle oracles, vanished liquidity and the brutal efficiency of auto-deleverage (ADL)
At 20:00 UTC, President Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese tech imports, sending Bitcoin from $122000 to $118000… normal volatility for a political shock
But by 21:00, Binance’s servers were overwhelmed and $6B had been liquidated
Wrapped assets like wBETH, BNSOL, and USDe (normally stable derivatives) collapsed only on Binance…
wBETH plunged nearly 90%, while USDe dropped to $0.65. Other exchanges saw little movement
How could those wrapped assets crash?
Wrapped assets represent claim checks on staked tokens like ETH. Their value shouldn’t swing violently unless the underlying asset does
Yet Binance’s margin system priced these assets directly from its spot order books, not their conversion ratios
When market makers withdrew and liquidity dried up, those spot prices crashed...
The system then marked down everyone’s collateral, triggering more liquidations, which deepened the collapse…
Coincidence or Coordination?
Some analysts think this wasn’t random. On October 6, Binance announced an update to its oracle pricing system for USDe, wBETH, and BNSOL, scheduled for October 14.
Four days later, those exact assets imploded…
Whether deliberate or opportunistic, the sequence showed a deeper truth: transparency can create vulnerability. Public upgrade timelines gave attackers (or lucky traders) a roadmap
The Oracle That Failed
The collapse followed a pattern seen since 2020 in protocols like bZx and Mango Markets: manipulable oracles, leveraged positions, and deterministic liquidation logic
Binance’s internal oracle relied mostly on its own prices. When those diverged, it read the manipulated numbers as truth and marked down collateral across billions in open positions
Liquidity Vanishes, Algorithms Take Over
Market makers are meant to stabilize volatility, but that night, they pulled out
Unable to hedge or even access Binance’s overloaded APIs, they stopped quoting altogether. As a result, liquidity collapsed by nearly 98%
With no bids left in the order books, liquidation bots kept selling, turning what should have been a temporary dip into a full-blown free fall. The shockwaves quickly spread to other exchanges, amplifying the chaos across the entire market…
Backpack faced a few waves of FUD after this event, but once again, Armani stepped up and clearly informed the community about what happened and the consequences
The situation proved that Backpack can handle challenges with transparency and resilience. Each case was carefully reviewed, and everyone affected was compensated
Auto-Deleveraging (ADL)
When order books and insurance funds failed, exchanges triggered Auto-Deleveraging (ADL)
ADL forcibly closes profitable positions on the opposite side of losing trades to absorb bad debt
Each exchange does it differently:
Platforms like Binance and Bybit rank traders by profit and leverage. The bigger your gain, the more likely you’ll be cut
Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange, takes a more transparent approach by publishing its ADL formula on-chain
Backpack goes a step further with a fair two-pass ADL algorithm:
In the first pass, traders are sorted by margin fraction and everyone is reduced to delta 0
In the second pass, traders are again sorted by margin fraction and batches of positions are reduced pro-rata per batch
During the crash, 35000 ADL events hit 20000 users on Hyperliquid alone
Conclusion
In the end, every safeguard worked as designed, just not as intended. The market didn’t fail because of manipulation or greed. It failed because its systems couldn’t tell the difference between fake prices and real ones
Crypto’s ambition is to build fair, autonomous markets. October 2025 proved they’re still dangerously fragile and that in this ecosystem, every mechanism works perfectly until it doesn’t…
This article was highly inspirated by the articles by YQ, a must read
https://x.com/yq_acc/status/1978800996689293674
Mad Lads x Nomadz
Nomadz is a travel platform built for everyone but especially for Web3 travelers looking for better deals and a seamless experience. The platform aggregates stays from over 320 providers, and thanks to its smooth Backpack Exchange integration, users can pay directly with crypto and enjoy 0% off-ramp fees
What makes it even better? Most of the Nomadz team are proud Mad Lads holders, which led to an exclusive collaboration for the community. By verifying your Mad Lads NFT on Nomadz, you’ll instantly earn +200 XP and get a permanent +20% XP boost on all your actions across the platform
https://x.com/nomadz_co/status/1973045637139550213
Bands.fun or how to airdrop 7 Lads
In October, a new project launched on Solana: Bands.fun
In this article, we’re not here to judge whether it’s good or bad, instead, we’ll break down the core idea behind the project and the event that took place on October 14th
What is Bands.fun?
At its core, Bands aims to introduce what the team calls “The NFT Flywheel”
In theory, the concept is quite simple to understand. Bands launches a token called a “strategy” (for example, MLSTRAT), which comes with buy and sell fees. The fees collected from trading this token are then used by Bands to purchase an NFT, which is relisted at 1.2x the original buying price. An other part are used as “Creator fees” for the team behind the NFT project used (for example Mad Lads, Bodogo, Claynosaurz…)
When that NFT is sold, the profit generated is used to buy back the strategy token, creating a loop. This is what the team calls “The NFT Flywheel”
What happened then?
Over the course of the month, Bands collected 241 SOL in fees from the Mad Lads strategy. They posted a tweet to ask the community what should be done with the funds:
Hold them for Mad Lads
Buy back and burn the MLSTRAT token
Armani jumped into the comments with a legendary reply: “Buy Lads and send them to Coach.”
Within seconds, the community went wild and the tweet got raided by many Lads. Just five minutes later, 7 Mad Lads were sent to Coach by Bands team
For those who don’t know Coach, he’s been around since the very beginning, collecting and trading countless Lads, Lassies, and Skulls. He’s not your average holder. He’s Coach.
Let’s chat with Coach
After this incredible story, I reached out to Coach to ask him a few questions and hear more about his thoughts on that crazy evening.
What are the reasons that make you trade and collect Mad Lads so much?
It’s the only NFT collection that I love everything about. The art, the vibe, the team, the business that’s being built with Backpack. Madlads ticks all the boxes for me, and since day one I’ve known that I’m going to keep my Lads for decades, so it was important for me to have the Lads that I love and to be like a real collector
What went through your mind when you saw Armani’s reply on the Bands tweet and then witnessed the Lads raiding the post, telling them to airdrop you Mad Lads?
A joke. I really thought it was a joke, and just seeing my name mentioned was already an incredible feeling. It’s recognition from Armani, which means a lot, and it’s recognition from the community that kept mentioning my name. It’s the kind of moment that gives meaning to our presence here
How did you feel when you saw those 7 Lads hit your wallet?
It feels like winning the lottery! We often see others win incredible things or have rare opportunities, and now it’s as if a miracle has happened to me when I wasn’t expecting it and wasn’t chasing it. I must admit that during the night I checked several times to make sure the Lads were still in my wallet! I know the value of a Lad and the value of being a lad. It makes me proud and extremely grateful
If you could give three pieces of advice to Lads, what would they be?
1. Do good without expecting anything in return. Just do good whenever you can
2. Never ask a founder to change their agenda for your agenda or your bag. If a founder ever does that, run away. If a founder doesn’t do it and you have a hard time with it, you’re not in the right project
3. Use Backpack
Monad Airdrop Claim Portal
You’ve probably heard of Monad, especially since the Mad Lads have been one of the most active and engaged communities supporting the project since its early days. On October 14th, the big moment finally arrived: the Monad Airdrop Portal officially opened its doors!
Connect your social accounts, wallets, and more to see if you’re eligible and find out what rank you’ve earned
https://x.com/monad/status/1978083577666416849
PODCAST CORNER 🎙️
TOKEN 2049 - Shaping the Next Phase of Digital Asset Markets
https://x.com/BTCTN/status/1973315268790329642
decrypt - “Backpack Crypto Exchange to Debut in ‘Many’ US States This Year”
https://decrypt.co/338813/backpack-exchange-debut-many-u-s-states-ceo
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