Introducing Community Finance

A letter from our CEO, Itamar Lesuisse

One year ago, Argent became Ready.

After eight years of building one of the most trusted wallets in crypto, we believed the technology was finally ready to deliver our original vision: giving people control of their own money.

Over the following year, crypto neobanks became a crowded category, with new cards, apps, and cashback programs.

But they mostly served the same audience: people who already use crypto.

That market matters. But we believe the infrastructure we’ve built can go much further.

We don’t want to build another crypto neobank.

We want to build a new category: Community Finance.

Community Cards are where it starts, launching soon.

A card that supports your community

The idea is simple: The money you spend every day should create value for the communities you care about. 

Your local football team, the band you’ve followed since high school, the city you live in, your favourite streamer.

When someone spends with a Community Card, a share of the revenue generated by the card program will go to the community they support.

A $3 coffee still costs $3. No extra cost added to the purchase. Something you already do every day will help support the team or community you belong to.

And support works both ways. Spending will unlock exclusive rewards, from limited merchandise and giveaways to premium access and IRL experiences that money can’t buy. Each program is custom, built with the community, for its members.

For members, everyday spending becomes a way to participate, contribute and get closer to something they love.

For community owners, it's a closer relationship with their most engaged supporters, and a recurring revenue stream that helps them serve those supporters even better.

When someone joins Ready, they’ll choose from our official community partners, a roster that will grow over time. The card design, content, points and benefits will all be shaped around that choice. We’re starting with select esports partners first, with new teams, creators, and communities being onboarded as we grow the platform.

Community Cards are the starting point of what we believe can become a much bigger category: Community Finance. A financial layer built around belonging and participation.

Why Ready?

At Ready we've always been obsessed with rethinking who money benefits, and who's in control.

Over the last eight years we’ve built self-custodial accounts, global payments, and the ability to spend digital dollars without giving up control of your money. That technology was the foundation. Now it can power something with much broader reach.

Communities don't stop at borders. The same jersey gets worn on streets all around the world. But the ways to support the club behind it have never worked as globally as the communities themselves.

Stablecoins change that. They let digital dollars move anywhere, instantly.

The new Ready will run on Base, giving members a fast and efficient way to hold and spend digital dollars through a self-custodial account. The infrastructure stays underneath. The experience stays simple. 

We’re starting with esports: home to some of the most passionate, global and digitally native communities in the world.

We’ll share more soon.

What this means for existing Ready users

This new direction means the Ready app is changing fundamentally. We’re no longer building a crypto neobank. 

The Ready app will update later in August. When it does, every existing user will automatically receive a new self-custodial account on Base. 

Your current accounts and assets will not move to that account automatically. Your funds are safe and remain under your control.

If you're an existing user, you've already received an email explaining your options and what to do next. If you haven't seen it, or want a refresher, our step-by-step guide walks through everything.

Thank you

Some of you have been with us since the earliest days of Argent. You trusted us with your assets, tested new products, reported bugs, challenged our thinking and helped us build. Everything we’re launching next rests on that foundation.

Thank you.

Argent began by making crypto easier. Ready set out to make digital money useful every day. Now we’re using that technology to help communities become stronger, more connected and more valuable to the people inside them.

Every card supports something. We think it should support something you care about.

Choose who your money supports.

This is the next chapter of Ready.

Itamar Lesuisse 

CEO, Ready