Solana (SOL) is one of the significant gainers in the cryptocurrency market in recent weeks. But it's not just the cryptocurrency that is rising, the Solana NFT collection seems to be following suit in terms of performance. The recent price increase is linked to the news that former employees of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have started a new exchange.

Solana and Solana NFTs continue to rise

The NFT collection that experienced a substantial price increase is the "Mad Lads" collection. Mad Lads is a profile picture project (PFP) that was launched on the Solana blockchain earlier this year. This NFT collection is designed to allow users to use their NFT as a profile picture. The floor price of Mad Lads was around 45 SOL on November 10. On November 20, the price of the collection was as high as 105 SOL.

The price of Mad Lads has thus increased by as much as 133% in a short period of time. At the same time, Solana continues to rise, with the cryptocurrency experiencing a 115% increase this month. At the time of writing, the price of Solana stands at $60 (€54.96).

Former FTX employees launch new exchange

These price increases are accompanied by the news that several former employees of FTX have launched a new crypto exchange in Dubai. This new exchange, Backpack Exchange, is connected to the Mad Lads NFT collection.

Trek Labs, a startup in Dubai, has been busy developing Backpack Exchange. Trek Labs is linked to the NFT wallet app Backpack and the company behind it, Coral. Coral is also the company that released the Mad Lads collection and is now offering exclusive early access to the new exchange to its holders.

If you're interested in owning a Mad Lads NFT, you'll have to wait until the launch of the crypto exchange, which is scheduled for the end of November.