Crypto Wallets Move Into Neobank Territory

NEW YORK — Neobanks—digital-only banking platforms such as Revolut, Wise, and Chime—gained significant global adoption over the past decade by offering low-fee foreign exchange, streamlined mobile checking accounts, and user-friendly interfaces. Several major neobanks have since added basic cryptocurrency trading features within their centralized ecosystems.

Self-custodial crypto wallets are now reversing that expansion path by introducing fiat payment infrastructure directly to on-chain environments. Their operators are adding fiat-to-crypto payment rails, debit card issuing programs, and peer-to-peer payment features as they seek to become primary banking alternatives for a global user base.

Bitget Wallet, originally launched in 2018 as BitKeep, underwent a major transformation in March 2023 when crypto exchange Bitget acquired a controlling stake in the platform with a $30 million investment. Following a complete rebranding in August 2023, the non-custodial wallet expanded its technical footprint to support more than 100 mainnet blockchains.

Jamie Elkaleh, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitget Wallet, stated that decentralized crypto wallets possess the technical and operational capabilities to directly compete with neobanks. The platform currently reports a global user base exceeding 40 million, while its ecosystem includes over 250,000 cryptocurrencies and thousands of decentralized applications (dApps).

According to Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet’s strategic direction focuses on bridging decentralized finance (DeFi) with traditional financial (TradFi) networks under its overarching “Crypto for Everyone” initiative. The initiative is designed around a unified interface where users can transition between blockchain assets and everyday consumer spending.

To bridge the gap between decentralized assets and real-world merchant acceptance, wallet providers increasingly rely on crypto debit card networks and localized payment partnerships. Through integrations with global payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard, users can spend self-custodied cryptocurrencies at traditional point-of-sale terminals.

Automated conversion mechanisms settle those transactions in local fiat currencies at the moment of purchase. This operational expansion is occurring across the wider Web3 ecosystem, where non-custodial wallet operators are moving beyond simple asset storage and token swapping into comprehensive financial service applications.

Competitors including MetaMask, in partnership with payment network Baanx, as well as specialized infrastructure projects like Gnosis Pay, have launched self-custodial debit cards. These cards allow users to maintain direct control over their private keys until a purchase is authorized.

At the same time, the rapid growth of Web3 ecosystems on messaging platforms—most notably Telegram’s Open Network (TON) ecosystem—has lowered the barrier to entry for millions of messaging app users through simplified micro-wallets and embedded payment miniapps.

Despite the functional overlap with neobanks, self-custodial wallets operate under distinct regulatory and structural frameworks. Traditional neobanks generally rely on banking licenses or partnerships with chartered bank institutions to hold customer deposits, while non-custodial wallets do not hold user funds directly.

Users instead retain exclusive possession of their private security keys. To facilitate fiat transactions, wallet providers partner with regulated financial institutions, electronic money institutions (EMIs), and licensed card issuers to handle currency conversion and banking compliance, allowing the wallet platform to offer banking-like utilities while maintaining its decentralized architecture.