Web3 Payment Applications Based on Pantera Funding: Which Infrastructure Sectors Are Still Promising?

Although the macro environment still hasn’t fully warmed up, true builders have never stopped moving forward. In the 2026 crypto market, capital is shifting from reckless speculation to rational value capture. Recently, a funding news story like a spark in winter ignited industry enthusiasm: Based, a Web3 consumer super app built on Hyperliquid, announced a $11.5 million Series A funding round led by top venture firm Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, and others.

This is not just a simple injection of funds but a clear market signal—Web3 payments and composable infrastructure are becoming the new cycle’s main players. Under the narrative of “Year of Utility,” besides the lively AI Agents, what other foundational infrastructure tracks are top institutions quietly betting on? This article will use the latest market data from Gate to help you see through the fog.

Why is Based Becoming a “Warm Current”?

In an environment of cautious capital, Based’s favor from Pantera stems from its impressive business data and clear business model. According to official disclosures, in just 8 months since launch, Based has over 100,000 registered users, nearly $40 billion in total transaction volume, and nearly $14 million in cumulative revenue.

Based aims to solve the biggest pain point in the current crypto space—fragmentation. It integrates perpetual contracts trading, prediction markets, and real-world crypto payments (like crypto cards) into a unified interface. Pantera partner Jay Yu commented, “If Hyperliquid is building the house of finance, Based is the front door.” This super app model of “trade everything, spend anywhere,” combined with its layout for AI-driven “Agentic Commerce,” makes it a future traffic gateway in the eyes of institutions.

Three Promising Infrastructure Tracks

Based’s rise is not an isolated case. It actually represents a deeper industry trend. Combining the investment logic of institutions like Pantera and the technological evolution toward 2026, the following three infrastructure tracks are showing strong money-making potential.

AI Agent Payment Track: From “Human Approval” to “Machine Commerce”

For AI Agents to truly achieve autonomous economies, payment capability is the final piece. Tiger Research points out that payment entities are shifting from humans to AI Agents.

Currently, tech giants like Google are building automated payments based on approval via the AP2 protocol. Native crypto solutions are even more thorough: through the combination of ERC-8004 (identity and reputation NFTs) and x402 (payment standards), AI Agents can perform machine-to-machine (A2A) automatic transactions without intermediaries. For example, your AI assistant can autonomously order servers, buy API services, or even micro-pay for an exclusive image. Pantera predicts that the x402-based payment framework will expand significantly by 2026, with Solana potentially surpassing Base in transaction volume. This presents a fundamental restructuring opportunity for the entire payment infrastructure layer.

Stablecoins and RWA: The Settlement Layer of Web3 Finance

“2026 is the Year of Utility for cryptocurrencies,” reiterated Pantera Managing Partner Paul Veradittakit at Consensus. The investment themes include tokenized RWA (Real World Assets) and stablecoins.

Stablecoins are no longer just a unit of account for crypto trading; they are becoming the settlement layer for global payments. The joint report by SNZ Holding and Nanyang Technological University, “Top 10 Blockchain Industry Trends for 2026,” also clearly states that stablecoins will be the focus of global payments in 2026, with RWA moving from concept to product—on-chain government bonds and cash management are becoming essential.

Market data also confirms capital flows. On February 24 alone, about $102,000 worth of ONDO tokens moved from Coinbase hot wallets into Gate, reflecting strong investor demand for top RWA assets.

Intent-Centric and Account Abstraction: Lowering Web3 Usage Barriers

The success of Based also lies in its “consumer-grade” user experience. Behind this is the victory of the “Intent” architecture. Users don’t need to worry about complex backend routing or Gas mechanisms; they only express their intent, such as “I want to spend $200 on a jacket,” and the system automatically handles bidding and execution.

Vitalik Buterin recently suggested introducing transaction simulation mechanisms to improve Ethereum’s security and user experience, focusing on ensuring user intent aligns with execution results. The proliferation of smart accounts is bringing on-chain interactions back to daily life, which is also the direction mainstream platforms like Gate are continuously optimizing wallet experiences and lowering user barriers.

Conclusion

The winter of capital has never frozen true innovation. Based’s recent funding shows us that composability, consumer-grade experience, and real revenue are replacing mere market narratives as new valuation standards.

Looking ahead to 2026, the second half of the bull market will belong to infrastructure projects that truly bring crypto into daily life: whether it’s payment tracks enabling AI autonomous trading, connecting traditional finance with on-chain RWA, or making user experiences seamless through intent layers. As the gateway to the crypto world, Gate will continue to track these “warm currents” and navigate the bull and bear markets with you.