Case study · Hex Trust
Aura - digital-asset wealth platform
A live mobile and web platform built by Hex Trust for private-wealth clients to hold, fund, trade and earn on digital assets in one managed experience.
One portfolio. Multiple financial journeys.
From fiat funding to advanced orders and yield products, presented as one coherent wealth experience.
Product. Aura combines custody, portfolio visibility, fiat and digital-asset funding, trading and yield products in a single client experience.
Customer. Private-wealth clients across Asia, MENA and selected European markets - from experienced digital-asset investors to traditional wealth clients entering the category.
My scope. Product direction and delivery for both the client-facing app and the internal admin tools, across the full product lifecycle: white-label launch, live operations, in-house rebuild, and migration of live clients to the new platform.
Product position
Aura sits between three familiar alternatives: an investment bank’s wealth platform, a centralised crypto exchange and a specialist private-wealth provider. Each solves part of the journey; Aura brings the experience together around one portfolio.
Hold
Custody, portfolio value, P&L and asset activity.
Fund
Fiat and digital-asset deposits and withdrawals.
Trade
Simple conversion through to conditional spot orders.
Earn
Fixed-term and market-linked yield propositions.
End-to-end customer journey
- 01OnboardIdentity and eligibility
- 02FundFiat or digital assets
- 03TradeConvert or place an order
- 04EarnSubscribe to a product
- 05TrackPortfolio, P&L and history
- 06WithdrawDigital asset or fiat
The product brings these journeys into one consistent interface. Portfolio value, available balance, transaction status and history remain visible as customers move between investing, trading and money movement.
Trade - simple when needed, advanced when wanted
The trading experience serves two audiences: clients who want a simple, single-quote Convert flow and clients who need more control through limit, stop-market, stop-limit and recurring orders.
Convert
A direct asset-to-asset quote with a simple confirmation.
Market order
Place an order at the best available market price.
Limit order
Set the highest buy or lowest sell price accepted.
Stop Market
Trigger a market order when a chosen stop price is reached.
Stop Limit
When the market reaches your trigger price, a limit order is placed at your limit price.
Recurring orders
Schedule repeat purchases to build a position over time.
Across the order types, the product keeps the trading pair, available balance, estimated result, fees and order status legible. The design offers a simple entry point while allowing experienced clients to express more precise trading intent.
Earn: Designing yield products clients can understand and trust
Earn lets clients discover a yield product, review its terms, subscribe and track the resulting position in their portfolio.
Fixed Earn
Fixed Earn is presented similarly to a term deposit: the product offers a fixed APY for a defined term, such as 60 or 90 days. Before subscribing, the client can review the asset, rate, term, minimum and maximum amount, and the conditions for receiving principal and earned yield at maturity.
Early redemption may be available for selected products. When it is offered, the relevant exit conditions are shown to the client before confirmation.
Variable and Strategy Earn
Variable and Strategy products provide market-linked yield. The displayed rate or estimated range can change with market performance, and product terms may be flexible or fixed depending on the individual offering.
| Dimension | Fixed Earn | Variable / Strategy Earn |
|---|---|---|
| Return | Fixed APY for the product term | Market-linked rate or estimated range |
| Term | Defined, such as 60 or 90 days | Product-dependent; often flexible |
| Client focus | Certainty of rate and maturity | Potential return with changing market conditions |
| Exit | At maturity or under stated early-redemption terms | Based on the individual product terms |
The main product challenge was clarity: customers need to understand which values are promised, which are estimates, when funds are available and what conditions apply before they subscribe.
On-ramp and off-ramp
On-ramp - deposit USD, receive USDT
Clients fund their Aura account by sending USD to the bank account shown in the app. Before submitting a deposit request, they can review the bank details and the displayed USD-to-USDT conversion rate.
The client submits the request and completes the USD bank transfer. Once Aura confirms receipt of the wire, the system credits the corresponding USDT amount to the client’s USDT wallet within Aura.
Off-ramp - use USDT or USDC to withdraw USD
Clients can withdraw USD using their USDT or USDC balance. They first add a bank account with all required details and have it verified in Aura.
Before submitting the withdrawal request, the client selects their verified bank account and reviews the amount and displayed conversion rate. Aura then transfers the USD from its bank account to the client’s verified bank account.
Both journeys show transaction statuses so clients can track progress from request to completion.
Platform evolution
Aura launched in four months on a white-label core to reach market quickly. As the business grew, it needed more flexibility and faster delivery than the third-party core allowed, so we rebuilt the platform in-house while the live product kept running.
Launch
4 months to go live on a white-label core
Live operations
7 months in production
Parallel rebuild
1 month of planning and 3 months of development, alongside live operations
Client migration
live clients moved to the in-house platform smoothly
For clients, the priority was continuity. Their portfolio information and active products carried over, and they only needed to set a new password and 2FA on the new platform.
Outcomes and lessons
Aura brought custody, funding, trading and yield into one experience across mobile and web, and moved live clients from a white-label core to an in-house platform without disrupting their access to assets or products.
Three principles shaped the work:
- Make complexity progressive. Convert and Fixed Earn are simple entry points; advanced orders and market-linked products are there when clients want more control.
- Keep financial information explainable. Rates, terms, balances and statuses appear at the moment they affect a decision. For example, Earn shows the subscription cutoff time and when a redemption will settle before the client confirms.
- Design trust into money movement. Clear instructions, confirmation details and trackable status matter more than visual novelty. For example, deposits show exact bank details and a status the client can follow until funds arrive.