Y Combinator And Coinbase Venture Backed Cypher Protocol Unlocks On-Chain Payments And Rewards To The Mainstream

What Happened

Cypher, founded in 2022, the on-chain payment and loyalty platform, officially launched its protocol’s native token on October 5, 2025 at 9:00 UTC. The token immediately secured listings across major centralized and decentralized exchanges, including Binance Alpha, KuCoin, and Aerodrome Finance (Base’s leading DEX).

The token started trending #1 on Dexscreener shortly after its launch on the Base network. These high-profile listings are intended to provide immediate liquidity and global accessibility for users, with more exchange partnerships anticipated in the coming weeks.

Backed By Leading Global Investors

Cypher is backed by investors including Y Combinator, Samsung Next, Coinbase Ventures, and angel investor Balaji Srinivasan. Their involvement underscores confidence in Cypher’s mission to transform payments and loyalty through blockchain-based infrastructure.

Introducing The Cypher Card

Market Context

Market Opportunity

Why It Matters

“Cypher is creating the WhatsApp moment for consumer financial apps. For too long, loyalty has been locked into expiring points and restricted programs. With Cypher, brands can deliver rewards directly on-chain, offering users ownership and seamless crypto spending,” said Kube, CEO of Cypher and former Risk Engineering Lead at Coinbase.

Details

Cypher has attracted a community of more than 100,000 users across 120+ countries, reflecting demand for non-custodial, crypto-integrated payments that align with everyday spending habits.

At the core of Cypher’s ecosystem is the Non-custodial wallet with Cypher Card, which has been live for over 3+ years and is specifically designed to facilitate everyday crypto and stablecoin spending.

Key features:

Non-custodial by design – Users can link any self-custodied wallets to use the card while maintaining ownership of their funds. Users topup their cards directly from their stablecoin balances (e.g., USDC, DAI), treating them like a digital dollar.

Multi-chain support and broader acceptance – Cypher Card can be used globally – anywhere Visa is accepted. Supports 15+ blockchain such as Ethereum, Solana, Hyperliquid, cosmos and so on..This enables users to spend their crypto and stablecoins from any supported chain seamlessly in the real world.

Instant digital card – Upon signup, users get instant access to virtual cards, with the option to get physical cards as well

On-chain rewards – Earn CYPR tokens with every purchase, with boosted rewards at selected merchants through Cypher protocol.

Enhanced controls – Users can lock/unlock their cards, adjust the spending limits in a few clicks, and set country-level restrictions.

Premium tier – offers an exclusive Metal Card with zero forex markup and higher monthly limits for a truly elevated experience

Globally, more than $1 trillion in loyalty value remains unredeemed, due to fragmentation, expirations and restrictions. Traditional credit card points, airline miles, and retail rewards are largely locked within centralized systems, limiting true consumer ownership. Cypher Protocol seeks to address this by combining real-world payments with blockchain-based incentives, Cypher turns everyday transactions into crypto-native engagement opportunities.

Cypher’s Flywheel: Maximizing rewards

The token is designed to power a robust rewards ecosystem, offering multiple avenues for users to earn and benefit.

For Cypher card holders:

Signup bonus rewards when signing up for the card

Earnings purchases made with the card

Extra rewards when shopping with top selected (voted) partner brands

Referral rewards for inviting new card users who complete at least 1 transaction