Today, we are announcing our biggest update to BasedApp since our conception in 2023. This marks the start of a new era as to the possibilities. However, before I share more, let me tell you a little bit about the BasedApp story and more about why we do what we do.

BasedApp was started two years ago, with a simple goal; make using crypto feel natural and easy. Users often struggle with using things onchain, and people generally feel that the experience is intimidating. Therefore, we were obsessed with designing new mental models to make crypto feel a little bit less intimidating. We want people to use crypto easily and be able to live banklessly.

To do so, we sought to create mental familiarity and let people think of crypto or stablecoins as regular money. The end result? We built a product to let people spend their digital dollars on-chain frictionlessly to buy anything they need.

In September 2023, we released BasedApp publicly just before Token2049 in Singapore.

The early BasedApp

The first version of BasedApp started out as a smart contract wallet that is directly linked to a Visa Debit Card. At the time, smart contract wallets were cutting-edge technology and could potentially make the user experience better. We allowed people to login to wallets with social login. And users could use the wallet with gasless transactions, batch multiple transactions and allow for automation such as recurring buys. Gelato wrote a blog post about how all this worked.

By holding stablecoins and cryptocurrencies in an account-abstraction (AA) wallet, you would be able to seamlessly buy anything from any merchant that accepts a Visa card. This technology not only made stablecoins feel less foreign to the average joe, but also solved a big problem for seasoned crypto users - off-ramping of assets. You no longer have to plan ahead, nor go through lengthy processes to off-ramp. Simply tap and go. Our BasedApp users love the simplicity of this service. Fast forward twenty months later, BasedApp today has grown to thousands of active users. We also applied for a crypto license in Singapore, and is now an exempted entity in Singapore. Being exempted means that we could legally provide payment and crypto services out of Singapore headquarters.

That said, I have a love-hate relationship with this early first version of BasedApp.

I love it that our product actually solved a huge pain point for many of our users. In the era of the FTX blow-up, getting on-chain dollars into cold hard cash in the bank was not only troublesome, but pretty much impossible for many countries. Some banks started to offboard users who have funds coming from crypto. Our Visa Card allowed our users to spend their on-chain assets without having to jump through many hoops. Our efforts through 2023 paid off; Today, we have since processed over eight-figures in payment volume across our thousands of users from various geographical locations.

Despite this, the first version of BasedApp could have been a lot better. We focused too much on making a generic “wallet” without really thinking about what people actually want to do with it. Smart contract wallets also made interacting with different chains difficult and expensive. After talking to hundreds of users on a regular basis, we now have a better idea of what people actually want to do on crypto.

With that, I am excited to announce our biggest upgrade to BasedApp yet.

Spend, Trade and HODL - All in one HyperApp

While the crypto industry is huge with so many different facets ranging from memecoins, to NFTs, to DeFi to utility coins, we’ve distilled this into 3 main activities we’ve come to learn what most users want:

1. Hold crypto - keep assets safe and secure
2. Trade - Buy and sell BTC, ETH and other tokens
3. Cash - Spend crypto in the real world. Move money in and out of their bank account.

This revelation gave birth to the concept of the HyperApp; an operating system for on-chain finance - to solve holding, spending, trading for the everyday user.

Based’s HyperApp will combine self-custody with the seamless CEX experience similar to Coinbase, Binance and Bybit. When we launch the mobile app, it will have the following:

• Buy or sell spot tokens such as BTC, ETH and SOL. Retain self-custody via BasedApp’s wallet feature
• Trade perps on a performant mobile app with native performance, push-notifications on fills/liquidations - Great trading UX is guaranteed
• Spend crypto directly with our Visa Debit Cards
• The best portfolio viewer on Hyperliquid, allowing you to view your balances across Spot, Perps, EVM, Staking, Cash balances.

As we continue building on Hyperliquid, we will explore these:

• On-ramp and off-ramps for all countries through HyperCore, HyperEVM, and all EVM chains (only for select countries for now)
• Building an on-chain HYPE treasury from our revenue
• Use the HYPE treasury to Activate HIP-3
• Synthetic USD powered by delta-neutral arbitrage and treasury yields against our HIP-3 enabled DEX

We want to be the go-to choice not just for trading on Hyperliquid, but for trading crypto globally.

Mobile-first Experience

BasedApp is finally an app!

The HyperApp will be available on Android and iOS. You will be able to use card products on your phone easily, and also trade on Hyperliquid easily. There are two ways that you can get started on using BasedApp:

• Create a new wallet on BasedApp: You can login with email or Google into BasedApp and start using Hyperliquid easily. This gives you the best experience possible across all Hyperliquid and BasedApp.
• Connect your existing wallet: You can also connect your existing wallet to BasedApp via the Connect Mobile feature. By connecting, you are giving permission for the trading app to place trade, but BasedApp is not able to withdraw your funds.

BasedApp does not host your private keys. Your wallet remains non-custodial.

The Hyperliquid x Based Visa Card

We are also releasing an exclusive Hyperliquid x Based Visa Card. This limited edition card allows you to use assets on Hypercore and HyperEVM to be spent at millions of merchants worldwide with zero top-up fees. This card is issued out of Singapore, and has one of the best acceptance rates around the world.

Hyperliquid x Based Visa Card will be available in July 2025. To be one of the first to get the card, start using BasedApp today. The higher your usage, the higher you will be placed on the priority queue for a limited edition Hyperliquid x Based Visa Card.

Be part of the journey

Be one of the first few to experience BasedApp. Here’s how you can get started.

Use any BasedApp Visa Card

While the Hyperliquid Card will only be available in mid-July, you can still sign up and use any BasedApp Standard Visa Card. The card is already available to users in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Once our Hyperliquid Visa card is ready, you will be able to order a Hyperliquid x Based Visa Card from the mobile app if you have a standard card. Additional shipping fees apply if you wish to get a physical Visa card.

If you are not from these three countries, you can either join the waitlist or sign up for a BasedApp Gold Visa Card. The BasedApp Gold Visa Card is our highest privilege card and is available to most countries in the world except for these countries. Users with a BasedApp Gold Visa Card get to earn 50% more points on their spending.

Refer to basedapp.io/cards for more details.

Join our beta testing program for our HyperApp

We are looking for beta testers to test our product before we finalise a release to the wider community. Be one of the first few people to test our mobile app (optimise your trading experience with us) and start earning points. There will be additional bonuses for being a beta tester. To be a beta tester, please join our Discord.