Mad Lads + Backpack Research Report
Originally published April 14, 2023
After publishing this report Mad Lads went from ~$150 to ~$35k (233x).
Backpack wallet referral link: https://backpack.app/ref/0xstacker
Mad Lads is an NFT project by Backpack.
Backpack is a crypto wallet (browser and mobile) similar to Metamask.
The team behind Backpack is Coral, a development company working on Backpack, xNFTs, and the Anchor Framework.
This could get confusing so let’s slow down.
Coral is a web3 development company working on the following three things:
⚓Anchor Framework
Anchor is a programming framework for quickly building secure Solana programs.
With Anchor you can build programs quickly because it writes various boilerplate for you such as (de)serialization of accounts and instruction data.
You can build secure programs more easily because Anchor handles certain security checks for you. On top of that, it allows you to succinctly define additional checks and keep them separate from your business logic.
Both of these aspects mean that instead of working on the tedious parts of raw Solana programs, you can spend more time working on what matters most, your product.
✖️xNFTs
xNFTs are executable, tokenized code (apps, protocols, developer tools, and JPEGs).
X stands for eXecutable—tokenized code representing ownership rights over its execution. The idea is simple, so simple it’s surprising no one has done it yet. But it’s as simple as it is powerful.
🎒Backpack
Backpack is wallet built for xNFTs…. an xNFT operating system.
Like a wallet, Backpack manages your private keys and connects to apps. But unlike anything else, it’s asset and protocol agnostic. Everything in the wallet is an xNFT. This is a big deal. Most wallets only show your tokens. Some don’t even show your precious JPEGs. Backpack, however, is a home for everything. It’s an open, programmable system built for Web3. And like any other application operating system, has a set of developer frameworks and APIs associated with it, allowing anyone to build their own xNFT apps for any protocol on any blockchain—without permission.
Sounds great, but you may be a bit confused still. A few screenshots make it easier to conceptualize.
It looks like a simple user interface for blockchain apps, token holdings, and NFT holdings. Almost like a web3 version of iOS or Android.
Here are some more screenshots of the browser wallet extension:
Madlist whitelist claim was a breeze and all happened within the wallet!
NFT display area, clearly organized by wallet and chain.
Standard wallet balance tab with a clean UI.
Backpack has a chat function within the wallet! By holding the Mad Lads whitelist NFT, I was automatically added to the Madlist chat.
The Madlist chat.
Applications tab.
xNFT.gg is an xNFT app store with tons of apps.
Overall, the UI/UX of backpack is far superior to any other crypto wallet I’ve used.
…we’re building not a wallet, but something different, an xNFT operating system we call Backpack.
Founders
Armani Ferrante - former Software Engineer at Apple & Oasis Labs
Tristan Yver - former Head of Strategy at FTX US. Helped incubate projects such as Fantom, Serum, Mango Markets, & Aurory.
Mad Lads NFTs
Mad Lads are the first and native collection of the Backpack xNFT wallet.
While there is no clear specific utility announced for holding a Mad Lad NFT, if you think Backpack is an innovative product that will get market penetration and experience fast growth, then it’s probably a good idea to hold a Mad Lad.
Right now Metamask is the largest crypto wallet in the space with over 20 million monthly active users. There is a lot of speculation about a Metamask airdrop. Now imagine if Metamask had an NFT collection from its infancy. They would likely be inclined to reward their NFT holders with a larger airdrop.
Short-term, Mad Lads will likely be a competitive mint that sells out and pumps hard. Personally, I had to pull a lot of strings to get a whitelist spot, which tells me the mint will very likely sell out quickly.
It’s hard to describe how pleasant, unique, and clean the mint process was for the Mad Lads whitelist token. People will absolutely be buzzing about the Mad Lads mint experience.
Long-term, Mad Lads is a speculative play on on the success and product-market fit of Backpack wallet. We believe that Backpack is a superior product to Metamask and Phantom, the two largest crypto wallets in the space.
We also believe the Mad Lads mint is likely to spark user growth for the BackPack wallet.
Users according to the Chrome WebStore:
Backpack: 40,000+ users
Phantom: 2,000,000+ users
Metamask: 10,000,000+ users
For those who are interested, there was recently a good AMA Twitter space recorded with Tristan which can be found here.
Mint details:
Price: 6.9 SOL
Date: April 20
The mint will take place within the Backpack wallet:
https://backpack.app/ref/0xstacker
Here is the official mint announcement: https://twitter.com/MadLadsNFT/status/1645796992164204545?s=20
Follow the official Mad Lads Twitter for announcements here:
https://twitter.com/MadLadsNFT
Summary
Based on the most recent hyped mint on Solana holding a floor price of 23.5 SOL and market cap of ~$5.5M, we believe it’s worthwhile minting Mad Lads at a 6.9 floor price as well as buying on secondary anywhere under ~$4M market cap for either a quick flip or longer-term speculation.
Note
Minting NFTs is risky and even good projects can have poor outcomes if overall market conditions do not cooperate. We believe this is an asymmetric risk:reward opportunity to the upside in minting Mad Lads, but there are obviously no guarantees that it will be profitable.
