Armani Ferrante, a crypto exchange founder and former employee of Alameda Research, knows from experience that Eminem’s famous line – “you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow” – rings especially true in the fast-paced world of crypto.

Reflecting on the high-stakes nature of the industry, Ferrante shared with Hall of Flame: “When Elon Musk sees one of his rockets crash and burn after standing right next to it, it’s undoubtedly a crushing blow. He loses a ton of money, it’s a disaster, but at least he gets another shot when the dust settles.”

However, the 32-year-old entrepreneur, originally from the US but now based in Tokyo, emphasizes a critical difference in the crypto space. “If a crypto exchange implodes, that’s it. Game over. There are no second chances,” he stated firmly.

And no one understands this better than Ferrante himself. He was one of the earliest team members at Alameda Research – the crypto firm that spectacularly collapsed. He was there for three months before its official launch in 2018, and then returned briefly in September 2020 to contribute to Solana-based projects like Serum. Ultimately, like many others, Ferrante felt the sting of the collapse, reportedly losing millions.

This experience fuels his relentless focus on ensuring his own crypto exchange, Backpack, operates with absolute integrity. Backpack, which boasts a trading volume exceeding $60 billion, uniquely combines the functionality of a centralized exchange with the security of a self-custodial wallet. This allows users to trade with ease while maintaining full control over their funds – a stark contrast to the model that led to FTX’s downfall.

When asked if the pressure of running an exchange, particularly given the fate of his former boss Sam Bankman-Fried, ever keeps him awake at night, Ferrante paused, admitting, “Wow, no one’s ever actually asked me that before… but I seriously could talk about that for an entire podcast.”

“That constant pressure is actually a positive thing,” Ferrante explains, whose team has now grown to around 95 individuals globally. “Without it, you wouldn’t achieve the kind of results you’re aiming for.”

Expanding on this, he adds, “Because that pressure is always there, I start each day focused on finding sensible solutions to the challenges we face.”

Ferrante is clearly moving quickly, but his priority is making sure everything is done meticulously and correctly.

“People used to heap praise on FTX for their rapid growth… but it turns out they were just taking every possible shortcut to get there.”

Ironically, FTX was a co-lead in Backpack’s $20 million strategic funding round in September 2022. However, just two months later, when SBF’s empire crumbled, Ferrante found himself in a precarious position, with 80% of his operating capital trapped on the FTX exchange. In a bold move, Ferrante decided to persevere and continue building Backpack with severely limited resources. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely – within just four days of its launch in February 2024, Backpack had already surpassed a staggering $1 billion in trading volume.

How did Armani Ferrante build his X following?

Ferrante first joined Twitter (now X) in April 2011 and has since amassed a substantial following of 127,100. He acknowledges that his follower count really took off with the rise of Solana.

“I think the real growth began as Solana started to gain momentum,” he recalls. Ferrante has been a vocal advocate for Solana since its inception in March 2020 and is also the creator of Anchor, a crucial developer and security protocol utilized by nearly half of all Solana projects.

“I was pretty outspoken in Solana’s early days. I was heavily involved in developing the tools for developers, and the whole ecosystem was growing incredibly fast,” Ferrante explains.

He identifies this period as the first significant phase of his follower growth, taking him to around 30,000 to 50,000 followers.

The second growth spurt came with the April 2023 launch of Mad Lads, a Solana NFT project he co-created with Tristan Yver. Mad Lads quickly became Solana’s second-largest NFT collection, according to DappRadar.

Ferrante estimates that he likely surpassed the 100,000-follower mark during the Solana memecoin frenzy of late 2023, as interest in the Solana ecosystem, and its prominent figures, exploded. The launch of Backpack to the public soon after provided another significant boost to his online presence.

“Once Backpack launched, suddenly I was inundated with partnership requests on Twitter,” he recalls. “If you dive into crypto, you’re instantly connected to a massive community, and a following naturally comes with that,” he observed.

What type of content does Armani Ferrante create?

Ferrante readily admits that his social media content is “all over the map.”

“It’s definitely very inconsistent,” he laughs, acknowledging the varied nature of his posts.

He describes his posts as a blend of Backpack updates, announcements of new features, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the exchange’s development.

From reminding Backpack users about automatic leverage trimming as positions grow, to playfully criticizing crypto wallets as “limited bank accounts,” and even lightheartedly joking about market downturns by advising followers to ignore his “very negative” P&L – Ferrante’s content is anything but predictable.

He also openly shares his perspectives on the crypto industry and isn’t shy about directly addressing falsehoods spread about him. In early 2025, Ferrante took time to publicly debunk claims made by an X user who alleged he was aware of the “rug pulls” and “scams” at FTX and Alameda Research before their public exposure.

“Everything in that post is, at worst, a complete fabrication, and at best, a misunderstanding. It’s a totally fabricated reality,” Ferrante stated in a January 10th X post.

This response came just days after Backpack announced its acquisition of FTX EU, the European division of the now-infamous FTX exchange.

Predictions for Armani Ferrante?

When asked about his Solana price predictions for 2025, Ferrante quickly quipped that he’s “the worst person” to ask.

He argues that there’s no good way to answer price prediction questions. Even when trying to play it safe with comments like, “Prices go up, prices go down, the point is, I have no idea,” he still faced backlash online.

“If I knew, I’d be so rich you have no F$%king idea.”

Ferrante is less focused on predicting specific prices and more interested in forecasting “the rate of progress” of the broader crypto industry, which he believes is rapidly accelerating.

He points out a significant difference this cycle: when the next bull market concludes, he anticipates fewer people will be forced to abandon crypto and return to traditional 9-to-5 jobs, unlike what happened after the 2021 boom.

“People went back to their old roles at places like Apple or Facebook; they thought, ‘this crypto thing is dead and over,’” he recounted.

“But now,” he asserts, “nobody is questioning whether this industry is here to stay or not.”

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Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He’s also a standup comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.