Backpack Paused Everything… But an Airdrop Is Coming 👀

By dexpartacus | dexpartacus | 6 Jul 2025

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Trading and Withdrawals Paused on Backpack: What Happened?
(Spoiler: read until the end there’s also an upcoming airdrop that could be worth a lot.)

Recently, the centralized exchange Backpack, which runs on a private blockchain, experienced a temporary pause in trading and withdrawals. During the deployment of a code update on a single node, a mismatch between validators occurred, forcing the system to halt activity in order to ensure all nodes were properly aligned. The team quickly:

Paused all operations to protect users
Rolled back the non-distributed code
Replayed transactions
Re-synced the state of all nodes

User funds were never at risk.

This very architecture, where every operation is signed and traceable, made it possible to pinpoint the issue, fix it quickly, and remain fully transparent. Something most traditional exchanges would struggle to offer.

The July 3 Technical Halt

Backpack suspended trading and withdrawals for about two hours following scheduled maintenance. Upon restart, some accounts showed reversed orders and incorrect balances. CEO Armani Ferrante called it a “programming error,” immediately announced an internal audit, and promised full reimbursement for any losses, stressing that the custody infrastructure was never affected.

Why the Issue Was Contained

Every action on Backpack (deposits, trades, withdrawals) is signed and reconciled in real-time on a private blockchain. The moment nodes fell out of sync, a built-in kill switch froze the platform until all validators were once again aligned. The same architecture that triggered the bug also enabled fast tracking and restoration, all without touching user funds.

Airdrop with No VCs, Hyperliquid-Style — Every Action Counts

The Backpack token will be fully distributed to the community, NO VC or team allocations, mirroring the “community-only” model that made Hyperliquid famous.

When?
Point distributions happen every Friday (Season 2 is currently live).

What earns you points? (Criteria updated dynamically):

Spot and Futures trading
Crypto/fiat deposits and withdrawals
Activating Staking/Auto-Lend
Other internal actions (NFTs, campaigns, referrals)

How do you climb the ranks?
Points are proportional to your volume and activity.

Still Early for Europe

Following its acquisition of FTX Europe and the related MiFID II license, Backpack plans to launch regulated derivatives in the EU soon. Season 2 started on July 3, and more seasons will follow, meaning there’s still plenty of time to earn points ahead of the TGE.

How to join: