Today we are announcing the biggest update to BasedApp since we started in 2023. Before I get to it, let me tell you a bit about the BasedApp story and why we do what we do.

BasedApp started two years ago with a simple goal: make using crypto feel natural and easy. People struggle with doing things onchain and find the whole experience intimidating, so we obsessed over new mental models that make it feel a little less so. 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 could buy anything from any merchant that accepts Visa. That made stablecoins feel less foreign to the average joe, and it solved a big problem for seasoned crypto users: off-ramping. No planning ahead, no lengthy off-ramp process. Tap and go. Twenty months later, BasedApp has grown to thousands of active users. We also applied for a crypto license in Singapore and are now an exempted entity there. 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 that our product 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. 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 thinking hard enough about what people 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 much better idea of what people want to do with 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 learned that most users want to do 3 things:

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, and move money in and out of a bank account

That gave us the idea for the HyperApp: an operating system for on-chain finance that handles holding, spending and trading for the everyday user.

Based’s HyperApp will combine self-custody with the smooth experience of a CEX like Coinbase, Binance or 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 fast native mobile app, with push notifications on fills and liquidations
• 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-ramps and off-ramps for all countries through HyperCore, HyperEVM and all EVM chains (select countries for now)
• Building an on-chain HYPE treasury from our revenue
• Using the HYPE treasury to activate HIP-3
• A 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, with the card and Hyperliquid trading in one place on your phone. There are two ways to get started:

• Create a new wallet on BasedApp: log in with email or Google and start using Hyperliquid. This gives you the best experience across Hyperliquid and BasedApp.
• Connect your existing wallet: link it to BasedApp with the Connect Mobile feature. Connecting lets the trading app place trades for you, but BasedApp cannot 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 lets you spend assets on HyperCore and HyperEVM at millions of merchants worldwide with zero top-up fees. It 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

Want to be among the first to try it? Here’s how.

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 based.one/cash for more details.

Join our beta testing program for our HyperApp

We are looking for beta testers before we release to the wider community. Test the mobile app early, help us shape the trading experience, and start earning points, with extra bonuses for beta testers. To sign up, join our Discord.