When FTX collapsed in November 2022, @aeyakovenko feared the worst: founders like @armaniferrante had just raised big rounds — and parked it all on FTX.

Suddenly, no runway. No safety net. Just chaos.

But even in the darkest times, they didn’t stop building.

@backpack soon launched @MadLads — a project that not only revived NFT energy but arguably helped keep @solana alive.