Based Litepaper 2026

01

The Thesis.

Markets shouldn't have borders. Access to financial instruments (equities, commodities, crypto) should be permissionless, 24/7, and composable. The legacy system fragments liquidity, restricts access, and extracts value at every layer.

Today, Based has 100k+ users generating ~$20M ARR. That puts us at a ~321x multiplier to Robinhood's 27 million users, and ~1,190x to the scale of Coinbase at 100 million users. The opportunity ahead is enormous.

Based Today 100k+ users

~$20M ARR

Robinhood 27,000,000 users

321×

HOOD Mcap: —

Coinbase 100,000,000 users

1,190×

COIN Mcap: —

Based is built on the conviction that every tradable asset will eventually live on-chain. We are building the exchange layer that makes this inevitable transition seamless, unifying crypto, equities, and commodities under a single, high-performance interface powered by Hyperliquid.

"Every tradable asset will eventually live on-chain. We are building the exchange layer that makes that transition inevitable."

The next bet is on building infrastructure for AI agents to generate revenue. The AI agent economy will exceed the human economy, not because machines are smarter, but because they run continuously and transact at machine speed. Agents will consume services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at volumes no human workforce can match.

Humans vs AI Agents

Illustrative projection, 2016 – 2036

Human Population

AI Agents

02

The SuperApp.

Based is building the financial superapp. One interface to access any market, fund your account from any source, spend your balance anywhere, discover new opportunities, and let AI handle the rest. No fragmentation. No off-ramps. No barriers.

Trade

Every Market, One App

Commodities, equities, crypto. Based gives you access to any market from a single interface. No switching between brokerages, no geographic restrictions, no waiting for market hours.

Commodities Equities Crypto 24/7

Fund

Deposit from Anywhere

Deposit directly into Based from your bank account or credit card. No intermediate steps, no third-party bridges, no friction. Money in, ready to trade.

Bank Account Credit Card Direct Deposit

Spend

Neobank, No Off-Ramp

Spend your Based balance directly without ever off-ramping. Your trading account is your spending account. The line between your portfolio and your wallet disappears.

Spend Balances No Off-Ramp Neobank

Discover

Launchpools

Discover and get early access to new projects through Based launchpools. Be first to the opportunities that matter, with curated access to launches before they hit the broader market.

New Projects Early Access Curated Launches

Intelligence

AI-Native Wallets

Intelligence is built into Based from the ground up. AI agents can own and operate wallets alongside humans, not just assist them. Agents trade, monitor risk, and execute strategies autonomously, 24/7 across every asset class.

AI Agents Agent Wallets Autonomous Based AI

Intelligence

Intelligence
Built-In

AI is going to disrupt every layer of finance. Based is building AI infrastructure and intelligent assistance to help traders execute better: from smarter order routing and risk monitoring to strategy automation that runs 24/7 across every asset class.

Agentic Commerce

AI agents own wallets, execute trades, and transact autonomously on Based, at machine speed, around the clock.

x402 Payments

Agents discover, negotiate, and settle payments for services programmatically, unlocking a new layer of autonomous economic activity.

Agent Activity

2,847 agents active

03

Why People
Use Based.

Omnichannel

Every screen, one account.

Start a trade on desktop, manage it from your phone. Based works seamlessly across web, iOS, Android, and desktop, with zero friction and zero re-login.

iOS → Android →

Global Reach

Easiest Way to Use Crypto.

Seamlessly access multiple markets (perps, spot, prediction markets) and spend directly with Based cards, all within one platform.

Referrals

Earn as you grow.

A referral system as rewarding as Bybit's. Invite friends, earn together, with commissions that compound as your network grows.

based.one/affiliate →

04

How Based
Monetises.

Based's revenue model is simple: every action a user takes on the platform generates income. Trading generates fees. Spending generates interchange. Sending cross-border generates FX. As the user base grows, all three streams scale in parallel.

Trading Fees Builder Code · 0.025%	Based earns 0.025% on every trade via its builder code on Hyperliquid. As volume scales, so does revenue, with no additional infrastructure cost.
Interchange Fees Card Payments	Every time a user spends their Based balance via card, Based earns interchange from the transaction, turning everyday spending into platform revenue.
FX Fees Currency Exchange	Cross-border and foreign currency transactions generate FX conversion fees, making every international spend a revenue event.

05

Traction.

More than 100,000 users use Based to trade and predict markets. Based has processed more than $41B in trading volume across crypto, equities, and perps, earning more than $15M in revenue across all product lines in the last 9 months.

$41.4B

Total trading volume across crypto, equities & perps

$15M+

Revenue across all product lines in the last 9 months

100K+

Users actively trading and predicting markets

Revenue Comparison, All Time

Builder	Revenue	Volume
Based	$14.2M	$41.4B
Phantom	$18M	$34.4B
MetaMask	$5M	$5.99B

Data retrieved 25 March 2026. Source: coinmarketman.com/hypertracker/builders

06

Backed By.

We raised $11.5M in a Series A in February 2026 led by Pantera to build the next generation of onchain finance, backed by leading institutional investors and crypto-native funds who share our vision of a unified, permissionless financial layer.

07

Trade
Everything.

One interface. Every market. Based unifies asset classes that have historically existed in isolated silos, giving traders permissionless access to the world's markets.

Trade across every channel with a seamless omnichannel experience that keeps you connected to the markets wherever you are.

Desktop Web iOS Android

Live from Hyperliquid

BTCBitcoin

—

HYPEHyperliquid

—

NVDANvidia

—

S&P 500Index

—

GOLDGold

—

SILVERSilver

—

OILWTI Crude

—

Crypto Equities Commodities

08

Spend Everywhere.

With the Based Visa Platinum card, spend your crypto and trading gains anywhere Visa is accepted, seamlessly bridging on-chain wealth to the real world. No off-ramp required.

Visa Platinum

Accepted at 100M+ merchants worldwide. Tap, swipe, or pay online.

Spend from Your Portfolio

Directly convert trading profits and crypto holdings to fiat at the point of sale.

Rewarding

Earn cashback in $BASED on every purchase, more rewarding than most banks.

09

Introducing HyENA.

HyENA is a case study of the power of Based Cloud: infrastructure that lets anyone deploy their own whitelabel exchange with prebuilt components: order books, margin systems, risk engines, and front-end templates, all ready to customize and launch on Hyperliquid.

Built by the Based team and powered by Ethena, HyENA is the most capital-efficient perpetual DEX with USDe margin and the second largest HIP-3 market on Hyperliquid.

Strategic Collaboration

$2.3B+

Volume

10,000+

Users

USDe Margin

Earn Rewards on Your Positions

Trade perpetual contracts using USDe collateral and earn rewards as you open and maintain positions. Capital efficiency meets yield. Your margin works for you even while you trade.

HIP-3 Framework

Builder-Deployed Perpetuals

HyENA leverages Hyperliquid's HIP-3 framework, which enables independent teams to launch and operate their own perpetual DEXs directly on the network. Builders stake HYPE tokens for deployment rights, ensuring accountability through validator governance.

By Based × Ethena

Built by the Largest HL App by Revenue

HyENA is developed by the Based team, the largest Hyperliquid application by revenue, in collaboration with Ethena, combining deep protocol expertise with the leading synthetic dollar protocol.

Permissionless

Full Market Control

Each builder-deployed DEX has full control over oracle sources, leverage parameters, fee rates, and open-interest caps. HyENA can launch new USDe-based perpetual pairs quickly, introduce new trading mechanisms, and operate transparently on-chain.

10

Why $BASED.

$BASED is the native utility token that powers the Based ecosystem, issued by the Based Foundation. It is designed to align incentives, unlock platform features, and support long-term community ownership. Fixed supply. Meaningful distribution. Built for the people who use and grow the product.

$BASED Utility

Holding or staking $BASED will unlock benefits across the entire Based platform:

Reduced trading & prediction market fees

Up to 8% Visa card cashback

Higher card limits at higher tiers

Lower on/off-ramp fees

Future launchpool access and airdrops

Agentic AI consumption credits

Token Allocation

1,000,000,000

Fixed Total Supply

36%

Genesis Distribution

23.64%

Ecosystem & Rewards

20.36%

Investors

20%

Core Contributors

Genesis Distribution

36% of the total $BASED supply (360,000,000 tokens) will be distributed to the community. 24% is released at TGE on 30 March 2026.

Recipient	% of Supply	% at TGE	Vesting
Based Community (S1 & S2, PUPs, BasedPal)	23.5%	23.5%	Fully unlocked at TGE
Ethena Community	7%	0.5%	20% released over 3 months from TGE; remaining 80% subject to 1-year cliff
Season 3 Participants	5.0%	0%	Distributed May 2026
Total	36.0%	24.0%

Vesting & Alignment

Investors and core contributors are fully aligned with long-term protocol success through structured vesting schedules.

Group	% of Supply	Tokens	Schedule
Investors	20.36%	203,600,000	1-year lock + 2-year monthly unlock
Core Contributors	20%	200,000,000	1-year lock + 2-year monthly unlock
Ecosystem & Rewards	23.64%	236,400,000	Managed by Based Foundation; reserved for ongoing growth

The Flywheel

Based is building a growing ecosystem. More traders means more revenue. More revenue funds better perks: card cashback, AI credits, and platform rewards, which attract more users. More users means stronger distribution, and projects want to launch on Based to reach them. Projects that launch on Based use $BASED as their utility token, driving demand back into the ecosystem.

More Traders → Revenue → Better Perks → More Users → Distribution → Launchpool Projects → $BASED Utility

11

What's Next.

Based is no longer just an exchange. Post-TGE, we are building Based into a full ecosystem, where projects launch, agents operate, and capital flows, all powered by one of crypto's most high-value userbases: traders who trade big, spend big, and hold with conviction.

The Vision

From App to Ecosystem

Based's distribution is its moat. 100k+ users with real volume, real spending power, and real on-chain activity. Every product built on Based inherits this distribution from day one. We are opening this to builders, protocols, and agents.

Distribution High-Value Users Ecosystem

Cornerstone

Based AI

AI is the cornerstone of everything we build next. Intelligence embedded directly into the exchange: agents that monitor your risk, suggest triggers to close trades, optimize your portfolio, and execute strategies 24/7. Private inference ensures your data and strategies stay sovereign.

AI Agents Risk Monitoring Private Inference Autonomous Trading

Post-TGE

Launchpool

A launchpool that features projects looking to tap on Based's growing distribution. New tokens, new markets, new products, all launching directly to the users who matter most. Projects get instant access to a high-value, high-activity userbase instead of starting from zero.

Token Launches Distribution New Markets

The Bet

Web 4.0

Based is building infrastructure that allows AI agents to generate revenue. To make money, agents need access to the same tools humans have: domains, hosting, payments, identity, and financial services. We have started with ai.based.one and based.page, with many more tools to come.

The product-market fit for the next decade is clear. The agent economy will serve billions of autonomous systems that consume services around the clock, every day of the year, with no downtime and no drop-off. This is a customer base that never sleeps, never churns, and only grows.

Web 4.0 AI Infrastructure Agent Economy

Trade Everything,
Spend Everywhere.

The Thesis.