Backpack review 2026

Our verdict

Backpack has the highest score in our comparison (8.8). For EEA clients it is one of four platforms with real perpetuals under a MiFID II licence, alongside spot under MiCA and its own SEPA rails, and one of the few where collateral earns yield while you trade (base rate around 3.87%, no token required), with reserves that can be checked publicly every day. What you should know: the real US stocks of Backpack Global are not available on Backpack EU, and every spot market is quoted in USDC, so a euro balance is converted first. Active since 2023.

Availability and licences

EEA clients trade on Backpack EU. According to its own documentation the operating entity is Trek Labs Europe Ltd (Cyprus, trading as Backpack EU; the former FTX EU licence), authorised by CySEC for investment services and active in the 30 EEA countries. The MiCA licence for crypto-asset services is registered with Latvijas Banka in the name of Trek Technologies SIA (Latvia).

• MiFID II (perpetuals): Trek Labs Europe Ltd (CIF 273/15), CySEC; real perpetuals for retail clients since 8 September 2025
• MiCA (spot): Trek Technologies SIA, Latvijas Banka, 27 May 2026 (register checked 31 July 2026)
• PSD2 / payment institution: Latvijas Banka; own SEPA rails
• Enforcement by EU regulators: no fine, order or warning found (DNB, AFM, CySEC, Latvijas Banka; checked 7 September 2026)
• Not via Backpack EU: Backpack Securities (real US stocks and ETFs); only via Backpack Global outside the EU, the US, the UK, the UAE and Japan
• Open check: the EU documentation names only the Cypriot entity; which entity provides the spot service to EEA clients is not stated explicitly

Sources: eu.support.backpack.exchange (About Backpack EU, 7 September 2026); CySEC and Latvijas Banka registers (31 July 2026), see MiCA timeline and MiFID II list; stock availability per support.backpack.exchange (6 September 2026).

Products

For Dutch spot users, Backpack vs Bitvavo and Finst vs Backpack show when the perpetuals and the yield on collateral make the difference; for derivatives, Backpack vs Bybit EU is the direct comparison.

Costs

Lowest regular fee, without VIP status, token holdings or promotions:

• Spot: 0.08% maker / 0.10% taker (tier 1, up to $100,000 volume per 30 days). Backpack EU does not publish its own spot schedule; this is Backpack’s global schedule
• Perpetuals (Backpack EU): 0.020% maker / 0.050% taker (tier 1, up to $500,000 per 30 days); tiers are recalculated every hour; liquidation 1% per fill
• Worked example, spot: €5,000 of bitcoin with an immediately executed order: trading commission 0.10% = €5.00. Because every market is quoted in USDC, the euro balance has to be converted to USDC first; that route and its cost are not in the EU documentation (checked 7 September 2026). Spread not included
• Worked example, perpetuals: $500,000 volume per 30 days, 30% maker and 70% taker, at tier 2 (0.019% / 0.045%): $28.50 + $157.50 = $186.00 in trading commission
• Volume discounts: 11 tiers; spot falls to 0% / 0.025% from $100M, perpetuals to 0% / 0.018% from $300M (full schedule below)
• Token benefit: globally, staked BP unlocks a higher tier (350 BP = tier 2, 50,000 BP = VIP 1, 500,000 BP = VIP 5); not mentioned in the EU documentation
• Promotions: none published for Backpack EU. Globally: the MM5 tier for new market makers in their first month and free stock trading; duration not published, stocks not via Backpack EU
• Other costs: SEPA free at Backpack (your bank may charge); crypto withdrawal fees per network, shown at withdrawal
• Open check: whether the global spot schedule applies one-to-one to Backpack EU clients cannot be confirmed from the EU documentation

At an average of 0.09% on tier 1, Backpack sits in the cheapest band of our comparison (cost score 8). The cost calculator works out spot and perpetuals for your volume.

Fee reference date 24 August 2026; perpetuals schedule and liquidation fee re-checked on eu.support.backpack.exchange on 7 September 2026.

Safety and history

• Custody: client assets held separately from company funds, as MiCA and MiFID II require; no separate custody audit found
• Proof of Reserves: daily and public, ZK proofs (Plonky2, PoRv2), internally every 10 minutes; covers all assets including margin and unrealised profit; open-source monitoring by OtterSec
• Audited annual accounts: not published; Backpack is not a listed company
• Supervision and licences: CySEC (MiFID II) and Latvijas Banka (MiCA, PSD2); see Availability
• Technical security: no public audit of the trading platform found, but open-source monitoring of the reserves
• Loss of client funds: no incident found since launch in 2023 (checked 7 September 2026); not found is not the same as ruled out
• Enforcement: no fine, order or warning from an EU regulator found
• Background: founded in 2023 in the United States; the Cypriot entity is the former FTX EU licence, acquired and relaunched as Backpack EU

Yield and capital use

• Base yield: around 3.87% a year on lent USDC (auto-lend), no token required; variable, set by supply and demand in the lending book; reference date 24 August 2026
• Yield on collateral while trading: yes, including unrealised profit; USDC and 17 other assets
• SOL staking as collateral: yes
• Risk: lent balances carry the counterparty risk of borrowers on the platform; the rate is not guaranteed and can change hourly
• VIP uplift (separate): from VIP 1 (50,000 BP staked or the volume equivalent) an extra 0.50 to 3.00 percentage points on lent USD, up to a cap per tier of $50,000 to $1 million; the maximum of around 6.87% is the global Participant Program, which can differ by jurisdiction and is not mentioned in the EU documentation
• Capital use: one account for spot, perpetuals and margin; 19 collateral assets globally, without stocks on Backpack EU

Reference date 24 August 2026; Participant Program per Backpack’s global documentation.

Score and sources

Every point is traceable under methodology v1.6 (scores recalculated on 23 August 2026; unchanged in this revision):

Frequently asked questions