Risk disclosure

Dubai (VARA) UAE

For UAE residents onboarded by Trek Labs Ltd FZE, which is licensed by VARA for Exchange Services, spot trading only, licence no. VL/23/07/001. The warning reads:

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.

VARA's marketing rules add that Virtual Assets may lose their value in full or in part, and are subject to extreme volatility. Futures and margin trading are outside this licence and are not available in the UAE.

European Union EU

Crypto services in the EU are provided by "Trek Technologies" SIA, authorised as a crypto-asset service provider by Latvijas Banka. Article 66 of MiCA requires such a provider to give information that is fair, clear and not misleading and to warn clients of the risks of crypto-asset transactions; it sets no fixed sentence. In plain words: the price of a crypto-asset can fall sharply and without notice, and you can lose all the money you put in.

Perpetual futures are derivatives under MiFID II, provided to EU clients by Trek Labs Europe Ltd, licensed by CySEC as a Cyprus Investment Firm, licence no. 273/15. Where national rules for leveraged retail products apply, the firm publishes a standard warning with the share of its retail accounts that lose money. That figure is not in the sources read, so no number is printed here.

United Kingdom UK

This site is not addressed to UK consumers, and no FCA authorisation or cryptoasset registration is stated on any Backpack host read for this page. Backpack publishes a UK risk notice on its support site. It says the Financial Conduct Authority considers this investment to be high risk and that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not protect it.

The FCA has prohibited the sale of crypto derivatives to retail clients since 6 January 2021 (Policy Statement PS20/10).

United States US

Trek Labs, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, registration no. 31000339714338. A registration is not a licence. US rules require a prescribed statement next to any simulated or hypothetical performance. No hypothetical performance is shown anywhere on this site, so that statement does not appear. The sources do not say which products US residents can use.

Spot crypto

The price of a crypto-asset can move a long way within hours, and nothing sets a floor under it. In a thin market a large order can fill at a worse price than the one you saw. A stablecoin can trade below the value it tracks, a de-peg, when confidence in its issuer or reserves weakens. Assets held on an exchange depend on that company's solvency and controls. Read what the proof of reserves shows and where it stops.

Perpetual futures

A perpetual future is a leveraged derivative with no expiry date. Leverage multiplies losses as well as gains: a small move against you can use up your margin, and the position is then closed by liquidation. Funding payments pass between long and short holders and can cost you money for as long as you hold a position. Spot and perpetual futures share one margin system on Backpack, so a loss on one position can reduce the collateral behind others. See the perpetual futures rules and availability.

Lending and borrowing

When you lend, you rely on borrowers to repay and on the platform's collateral and liquidation rules to cover them if they do not. That is counterparty risk. Rates are variable and not guaranteed, and they can fall close to zero. If the company that runs the lending market fails, lent assets may not come back in full. Borrowers can have their collateral liquidated when its value falls. No source read names the company that provides lending in any region. See the lending rates and risk block.

Stocks and tokenized securities

The value of shares can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. From Friday 8 PM to Sunday 8 PM ET and on US market holidays, orders go to Backpack's own market, where fewer buyers and sellers can mean wider spreads and prices that differ from the next US open. The live site describes holdings as security entitlements under New York UCC Article 8: your claim runs against the intermediary that holds the shares, so its failure or a records error is a risk to your legal title. A tokenized security adds the risks of its blockchain. See stock trading and the brokerage entity.