Industry Executives Say Wallets Are Becoming Invisible as Crypto Interfaces Shift to Apps and AI Agents

The crypto wallet is moving from the foreground to the infrastructure layer of consumer products, according to executives at Gate, Phemex and Zoomex, as trading apps, payment products, exchange platforms, embedded finance tools, and AI-driven interfaces absorb functions once handled by standalone wallets. Kevin Lee, Chief Business Officer at Gate, said users are asking for outcomes rather than key management, and that wallets will continue to power products behind the scenes. "Most users do not want to deal with wallets, they want outcomes. While wallets remain essential at the infrastructure level, the interface is increasingly abstracted away," Lee told BeInCrypto. He described assets held in custody, linked to a payment card, and used through Apple Pay or Google Pay, and said this setup "allows crypto to be embedded into familiar payment rails without exposing users to private keys, gas fees, or signing processes. Adoption improves because friction and complexity are removed." Lee added that "wallets are not disappearing, but they are becoming invisible, sitting behind more intuitive interfaces that deliver crypto functionality without requiring users to understand the underlying mechanics."

Federico Variola, CEO of Phemex, framed the change as product convergence, with users expecting a single application to handle storage, trading, transfers, and access to crypto markets. "Users just want an app at this point. Whether it's a trading app that also creates a wallet for you, or a wallet [that] …," Variola said, describing a market where wallet functions are folded into broader platforms. Lee, Variola, and Fernando Aranda, Marketing Director at Zoomex, agreed that key management, seed phrases, gas fees, and network selection still create friction in Web3 onboarding, and that ownership, custody awareness, and transaction finality should remain visible to users even as the underlying wallet is abstracted.

Executives from the three firms also pointed to AI agents as a possible next interface for crypto transactions, with transparency and user control cited as core safeguards. The discussions covered which parts of the user journey still feel too technical and how AI-driven interfaces could simplify interactions without removing user control over assets and transaction signing.