Updated on:11/26/2025 01:41 PM 
Basis, one of the pioneering DeFi algorithmic stablecoins, has been reborn as Basis Change, spearheaded by a new anonymous development team. In an exclusive interview with CryptoSlate, the project's anonymous lead, 'Spasm Salim,' revealed that the team chose anonymity to ensure resistance to regulatory takedowns. He added that the core motivation driving Basis Change is purely intellectual curiosity and a passion for decentralized finance.
One of the original DeFi algorithmic stablecoins, Basis, is being brought back from the ashes. Initially launched in 2018, the protocol sought to build an equitable monetary system accessible to all. Basis’s groundbreaking vision—to create a digital currency people would actually use for daily transactions rather than just for speculation—captured significant investor interest, securing an impressive $133 million in funding.
However, mounting regulatory pressure from the SEC forced the MIT-educated founders Nader Al-Naji, Lawrence Diao, and Josh Chen to shut down the project.
Now, two years later, a dedicated team of five anonymous developers has decided to resurrect the project and build a new network on the ambitious foundations laid by the original Basis protocol.
The new project, dubbed Basis Change, has no venture capital funding, no token sale, or any pre-mined tokens. The only movement, as the project’s developers state, will be driven by the community. Basis Change and its new developers have decided to build the project on the Ethereum blockchain.
In an interview with CryptoSlate, Spasm Salim, the anonymous lead developer of Basis Change, explained why they decided to revive the project and how it differentiates itself from other rebase coins that have emerged in the market.
Cryptoslate: What led to the downfall of the original Basis project despite its significant funding? Why do you believe the SEC and other regulators intervened?
Spasm: The reasons for the Basis failure are detailed in their now-defunct website, foundation.io. The SEC approached the founding team from Boston regarding Basis Bonds and Basis Shares—which have serious security-like characteristics. Essentially, users bought into Basis Shares with the expectation of seigniorage revenue, and Basis Bonds with the expectation of a higher return when the stablecoin stabilizes.
Cryptoslate: What is your background, and how does it relate to your role in Basis Change?
Spasm: I’ve been a close follower and proponent of the Basis project for a long time and believe it's one of the most brilliant ideas ever introduced in the blockchain industry. The whole point of creating this project anonymously is to ensure it remains censorship-resistant. The SEC cannot shut us down because we are anonymous, received no funding, have no major backers, and have no incentives to run this project other than intellectual curiosity.
I am one of the lead developers. What I can share about the team (there are five of us in total) is that we primarily come from engineering backgrounds and have spent significant time studying Basis and other algorithmic stablecoins.
Cryptoslate: How is Basis Change differentiated from AMPL and other rebase supply coins?
Spasm: AMPL doesn't actually have a real monetary policy. When demand for the token changes, there is no mechanism external to the stablecoin that can manage the demand volatility—it simply changes the supply. While the token supply changes during a rebase, in reality, the total money supply value remains constant, as each user's balance is adjusted proportionally.
Both Basis and Basis Change utilize exogenous mechanisms to contract and expand the money supply, managed through the issuance and redemption of Basis Bonds. Bonds are sold to reduce the Basis Change money supply when demand falls and are redeemed at a higher price to expand the money supply when demand increases.
Cryptoslate: What’s next for Basis Change?
Spasm: We've finished writing the smart contracts for Basis Change and are having the codebase audited by engaging with some of the sharpest minds in the crypto space. We're already receiving lots of great feedback.
While our marketing might appear chaotic and unserious, we are genuinely focused on leveraging the current community sentiment towards novel experiments in crypto to ensure the Basis Protocol can be launched in a censorship-resistant and fair manner. We are committed to not taking a single dollar from the project and will continue to develop the codebase with our community, asking for donations where necessary to offset essential costs.
The project's other admin is DeFi Morty, who wears an eyepatch, making him a 'one-eyed' Morty. We are excited to see what the team of One-Eyed Morty and Spasm Salim can achieve in the DeFi space.
