Is Backpack Exchange regulated? There is no single answer for the group. Three companies appear in a public register read on 11 October 2026: CySEC, the ESMA interim MiCA register and VARA. The FinCEN registration and the Anjouan licence are Backpack's own statements and were not checked.
Backpack licences, registrations and availability by region
Risk warning. Not financial advice. Crypto is highly volatile and may drop in value significantly. You may lose the amounts you invest and your investments do not benefit from any form of financial protection.
No single licence covers Backpack. Trek Labs Europe Ltd is licensed by CySEC as a Cyprus Investment Firm (licence no. 273/15); "Trek Technologies" SIA is authorised as a crypto-asset service provider by Latvijas Banka (27 May 2026); Trek Labs Ltd FZE is licensed by VARA for Exchange Services, spot only (licence no. VL/23/07/001); Trek Labs, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business (registration no. 31000339714338). Availability depends on where you live.
Last verified against the CySEC, ESMA and VARA registers.
Where Backpack is available, by region
| Region | Company | Regulator, status and number | Spot crypto | Perpetual futures | Lending | Stocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union and EEA | "Trek Technologies" SIA (crypto); Trek Labs Europe Ltd (futures) | Authorised as a crypto-asset service provider by Latvijas Banka on 27 May 2026. Licensed by CySEC as a Cyprus Investment Firm, licence no. 273/15 | Offered, by "Trek Technologies" SIA | Offered, by Trek Labs Europe Ltd | Not stated in the sources read | Via Trek Brokerage Services Limited, outside the EU licences |
| Dubai and the UAE | Trek Labs Ltd FZE | Licensed by VARA for Exchange Services, spot trading only, licence no. VL/23/07/001 | Offered, to UAE residents onboarded by this company | Not offered: outside the licence | Not covered: spot-only licence | Not stated in the sources read |
| United States | Trek Labs, Inc. | Registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, registration no. 31000339714338; state licences listed below | Not stated in the sources read | |||
| Other regions | Not named in the sources read | None stated | Not stated in the sources read | |||
"Offered" means a source names the company that provides the product in that region. "Not stated" means no source read on 6 and 11 October 2026 names a provider, not that the product is unavailable. No list of restricted countries is printed: none is in the sources.
Last reviewed
European Union and EEA EU
The ESMA register lists 29 host countries for "Trek Technologies" SIA: 26 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Hungary is not in the list read on 11 October 2026, although a Backpack article dated 1 July 2026 says the authorisations cover all 27 member states.
- AT
- BE
- BG
- CY
- CZ
- DE
- DK
- EE
- EL
- ES
- FI
- FR
- HR
- IE
- IS
- IT
- LI
- LT
- LU
- LV
- MT
- NL
- NO
- PL
- PT
- RO
- SE
- SI
- SK
Product pages carry their own detail: where perpetual futures are offered and lending availability by region.
Dubai and the UAE UAE
Spot trading only, for UAE residents onboarded by Trek Labs Ltd FZE. Futures and margin trading are not available in the UAE.
United States US
State licences are set out under Trek Labs, Inc. below. Several states are shown as "Coming Soon": the company is not yet licensed there. Which products US residents can use is not stated.
Other regions
The sources name no contracting company for readers outside the EU, the EEA, the UAE and the US. The home page has who provides Backpack in each region, in brief.
Trek Labs Europe Ltd (Cyprus)
- Regulator
- Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
- Status
- Licensed as a Cyprus Investment Firm, licence no. 273/15
- Licence date
- Company registration no.
- 335683
- Registered address
- 47 Stavrou Avenue, Floor 2, 2035 Nicosia, Cyprus
- Approved trade name
- Backpack EU
- Approved domain
- eu.backpack.exchange
- Previous name
- FTX EU Ltd
- Register
- CySEC register entry for Trek Labs Europe Ltd
Covers: investment services under MiFID II. Backpack describes this licence as the legal basis for the perpetual futures it offers to EU clients as Backpack EU. The register entry lists the permitted services by number; they are not copied here.
Does not cover: the stock brokerage, or the spot crypto services that sit with "Trek Technologies" SIA under MiCA. Background on the firm is in the company overview and history.
"Trek Technologies" SIA (Latvia)
- Authority
- Latvijas Banka
- Status
- Authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA
- Authorisation date
- Licence number
- Not shown in the register or on the site
- LEI
- 6488C2PNI17093U2YA18
- Company registration no.
- Not stated
- Address
- Brīvības iela 40 - 37, Rīga, LV-1050
- Commercial name
- Backpack EU
- Register
- ESMA interim MiCA register
Covers five services, by their MiCA letters: (a) custody and administration of crypto-assets, (c) exchange for funds, (d) exchange for other crypto-assets, (e) execution of orders and (j) transfer services. The register row was last updated on 27 June 2026.
Does not cover: perpetual futures, which are MiFID II instruments; lending, which is not among the five services; the stock brokerage.
Backpack also states that this company holds a Payment Institution licence granted by Latvijas Banka on 27 May 2026. No number is shown and that register was not located.
Trek Labs Ltd FZE (Dubai)
- Regulator
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai
- Status
- Licensed for Exchange Services, VASP Licence, licence no. VL/23/07/001
- Register status
- Active
- Licence issued
- CMA registration no.
- CMA-VASP-1000000-0004
- Company registration no.
- Not stated
- Address
- 236 (6D) RME, Floor 02, The Offices 1 - One Central, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE
- Responsible roles
- Head of Compliance; Head of Operations
- Register
- VARA public register (search "Trek Labs")
Covers: spot trading for UAE residents onboarded by this company.
Does not cover: futures or margin trading, and any other company that uses the Backpack Exchange brand.
Trek Labs, Inc. (United States)
Trek Labs, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, registration no. 31000339714338, and lists NMLS ID 2665675. FinCEN's verb is "registered": with few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Department of the Treasury. A registration is not a licence.
| State | Licence type as listed | Number |
|---|---|---|
| California | DFAL licence | 2665675 |
| Delaware | Check Seller, Money Transmitter | 042857 |
| District of Columbia | Money Transmitter | MTR2665675 |
| Illinois | Money Transmitter | MT.0000531 |
| Iowa | Money Services | 2025-0047 |
Several other states are shown as "Coming Soon": the company is not yet licensed in them, and only the first rows of the table were captured. Check the federal number in the FinCEN MSB registrant search and the state licences in NMLS Consumer Access.
Trek Brokerage Services Limited (Anjouan)
The live stock pages, as served to an EU address on 6 October 2026, say that brokerage services are provided through Trek Brokerage Services Limited, acting as intermediary broker. They describe it as licensed by the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority. No licence number is shown and no register entry was opened.
Scope: intermediary broker for stock trading. It is not an EU, UAE or US authorisation. More on the stock brokerage entity.
United Kingdom
No FCA authorisation or cryptoasset registration is stated on any Backpack host read for this page. A UK risk notice sits on the support site. This site is not addressed to UK consumers: see the risk warnings by region.
What is not covered by any licence listed here
- Futures and margin trading in the UAE. Outside the VARA licence and not available there.
- Anything outside each company's scope. The CySEC licence does not cover spot crypto or the stock brokerage; the MiCA authorisation covers five named services; the FinCEN registration is not a licence.
- Lending and borrowing, in every region. Not stated in the sources read.
- Perpetual futures in the United States. Not stated in the sources read.
- Stocks in the United States. Not stated in the sources read.
- Stock brokerage under the EU or Dubai licences. It runs through Trek Brokerage Services Limited.
- Users outside the EU, the EEA, the UAE and the US. No contracting company is named.
Questions about scope go to the company concerned: the contact page has the entity contact details, and disputes follow the complaints routes.
How to verify a licence yourself
CySEC: Trek Labs Europe Ltd
Check licence number 273/15, licence date 23/04/2015 and company registration number 335683.
Check that the approved domain is eu.backpack.exchange and the trade name is Backpack EU.
ESMA: "Trek Technologies" SIA
Open ESMA's MiCA page and find the Interim MiCA Register.
Download the list of authorised providers, the file CASPS.csv.
Search it for LEI 6488C2PNI17093U2YA18. Check the authority, the date 27/05/2026, the services and the host countries.
VARA: Trek Labs Ltd FZE
Open the public register on the VARA site.
Search the list for "Trek Labs". The row has no page of its own.
Check reference VL/23/07/001, activity Exchange Services, status Active and issue date 2023/10/30.
The FinCEN search has no link per registrant; the US number was not checked there. Related reading: security and proof of reserves and guides on regulation and trust.
Last verified . Responsible officer: Head of Compliance.
Check the register before you fund an account
Start with the company that serves your region.