Coral raises US$20 million for Backpack, its executable NFT (xNFT) wallet

Coral, one of the biggest developers in the Solana blockchain network recently raised US$20 million in a strategic funding round led by Web3-focused venture capital firm FTX Ventures and ump Crypto, a Web3 investment division of the Jump Trading Group.

The funds would go towards the development of Coral’s most ambitious product yet, Backpack. Backpack is an interactive crypto wallet that delivers crypto-native experiences through what the Coral calls 'executable NFTs' (xNFTs).

xNFTs are different from your average NFT. While the underlying token for regular music or art NFT simply shows its uniqueness (hence non-fungible), xNFTs grants owners the right to launch a 'decentralised tokenised app.'

In a bid to explain the whole initiative, Coral founder Armani Ferrante likened Backpack wallet to the Iphone’s iOS and xNFTs to the apps on the iPhone. Backpack will help users access all their assets and various Solana-based protocols in one place.

'I could do things like play games with xNFTs, I could do things like see if they’re online and connected and what they’re doing on the blockchain,' Ferrante said in an interview.

Coral also offers a developer tool called react-xNFT which others can use to develop new products and experiences atop Backpack. 

Most smart contracts, especially their related websites and applications are decentralised. Ferrante believes Backpack can change this by providing all the necessary development tools and have decentralised ownership of code. Backpack also aims to address blockchain onboarding, a common barrier in the cryptocurrency sector.

Ferrante has a wider vision of developing Backpack into a 'network in its own right' to help establish a concept of multichain identity for users in Web3 through xNFTs.

Coral launched the Backpack Private Beta and made its code open-source on Wednesday. It had previously released react-xNFT to Solana brands like Magic Eden, Aurory, DeGods, Solend, Degenerate Ape Academy, and others, who plan to launch their various xNFT projects on Backpack’s Private Beta.

Photo: Coral