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Last December, the decentralized exchange reached an astonishing milestone, with monthly trading volumes exceeding $462 billion. Although volumes have fluctuated during various market cycles in the past quarter, trading activity on DEXS continues to surge at an astonishing pace.
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Not just senior traders on these platforms. Even beginner users of these platforms are now actively seeking new assets and early trading opportunities. This trend reflects deeper structural changes in financial practices as users move decisively from centralized finances to decentralized finances. Why is this shift happening? This is due to increased demand for increased controls between Crypto users, improved security, and frictionless trading experiences.
In this transformation, crypto wallets evolved from passive storage solutions to sophisticated trading devices, reconstructing how users are involved in blockchain technology.
Crypto wallets have come a long way
Historically, crypto wallets have provided a single passive feature to securely store digital assets. Over time, however, the wallet has begun offering basic transactional features, allowing users to send and receive cryptocurrency. Today, the role of wallets is expanding dramatically, driven by user demand for integrated capabilities that provide real-time intelligence and trading capabilities.
In my experience leading the rollout of pro-grade trading capabilities at Bitget Wallet, this shift has been declared. The mobile first wallet interface has very sophisticated and sophisticated features found only in professional trading platforms such as sophisticated K-line charts, dynamic trading overlays, and real-time on-chain analytics.
In particular, we saw strong traction from power users with Bitget Wallet Alpha, an advanced trading suite that delivers precision tools such as signal alerts, whale tracking and risk dashboards into your wallet. These extensions are not cosmetics or visual upgrades. They represent a fundamental redefinement of wallet capabilities. Crypto wallets, or Web3 wallets in general, are becoming active and intelligent trading hubs that allow users to make informed decisions instantly and securely.
User behavior is shifting towards wallet-based transactions
Recent chain research by Bitget Wallet has confirmed this major change in user behavior. Across the global market, wallets are the main interface for trading, with 48% of surveyed users trading actively within the wallet.
Importantly, users aren’t just trading. They also use their wallets to earn rewards and airdrops (46%), payments (40%), yields (37%), and market trend analysis (35%). Additionally, 33% rely on wallets for token discovery, and 31% are actively investigating decentralized applications. This diverse range of activities highlights a broader trend towards integration, reflecting preferences for a comprehensive all-in-one wallet experience.
Another important observation is that behavioral changes vary from region to region. In developed markets such as North America, Western Europe and Oceania, wallets primarily handle important financial activities such as transfers, payments and staking.
However, emerging regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America show a broader approach. Users from these countries use wallets to discover tokens, monitor prices, and access new blockchain protocols.
These regional differences show that crypto wallets can meet clear market demands through a multipurpose, user-centric approach. Today’s platform has a lot of adaptability, only getting better with new developments.
It’s all user experience
One of the key drivers that accelerate this transition from CEFI to DEFI is the user experience. Historically, decentralized platforms have faced challenges in user recruitment. And this was mainly due to complex interfaces and non-intuitive workflows. However, as wallets integrate more and more advanced features into user-friendly, mobile-centric designs, adoption barriers will soon be resolved.
Being refined doesn’t have to mean complicated. Simplifying complex resistance through intuitive design and seamless integration of advanced analytics and trading tools, wallets have gained significant market share.
Our own experience shows that mobile-first design, complemented by real-time market insights and analytical capabilities, significantly boosts user confidence in independent and decentralized transactions. This intuitive UX promotes wider adoption and creates lasting user engagement. This is essential for the sustainable growth of DEFI.
Integrate intelligence with autonomy
Current generation crypto wallets are excellent at bridging the gap between asset custody and aggressive transactions. Analytics, transaction overlays, and real-time on-chain data integration will eliminate the need for multiple platforms to access critical information. These features are concentrated within the wallet, allowing users to gain more autonomy than investment decisions through real-time market intelligence.
Additionally, integrating such features within the wallet directly addresses the historical issues of fragmented user experiences. To manage ciphers, you need to jump through multiple disconnected applications. As wallets become more refined and feature-rich, users are increasingly integrating their activities into a single, cohesive experience.
The future of wallets as trading terminals
Looking forward to it, wallets will continue to evolve into an increasingly powerful trading terminal. We are heading towards a stage in which all crypto trading requirements are bundled into a singular dynamic wallet platform.
So, whether someone wants to store digital assets, gain advanced trading insights, or access passive income opportunities, everything is possible through a single mobile native interface. Decentralized exchange, real-time data analytics, and enhanced security measures innovations will drive this evolution and strengthen the wallet as an essential tool in the Defi ecosystem.
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Alvin Kang
Alvin Kang He is Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, leading the company’s global growth strategy and oversees brand building, operations and growth initiatives. Prior to this role, Alvin worked for almost ten years on LinkedIn, leading the data team in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to the strategic planning of the company’s expansion in Asia. He later held his position as Head of Ecosystem Growth for the BNB Chain and Head of Asia for the SEI Lab, and accumulated extensive experience in market growth and data analysis for Web2 and Web3 domains. With years of extensive technical expertise and strong foresightful leadership, Alvin is dedicated to building Web3 and discovering new frontiers.