If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen crypto wallets evolve from niche tech into indispensable superapps redefining how millions engage with blockchain. What used to be simple storage tools are now central to everything—from identity to payments to DeFi. With the space accelerating fast, I wanted more than intuition—I wanted data. So I turned to the latest report from Dune Analytics and Addressable.io, which revealed the most transformative wallet trends shaping Web3 in 2025.
After a deep dive into the “Crypto Wallets 2025” report, three powerful trends emerged that every crypto user, builder, and investor needs to know. These include the rise of smart wallets, the evolution of wallets into financial superapps, and fascinating geographic insights that expose where—and how—wallet adoption is booming. Each of these themes signals not just growth, but a fundamental shift in how blockchain tools are being built and used. Let’s unpack what these shifts mean and why they’re central to the future of crypto.
1. Smart Wallets Are Becoming the Default—And the Infrastructure for Web3
Smart wallets are no longer experimental—they’re quickly becoming the default experience for interacting with crypto. Powered by account abstraction and Ethereum’s ERC-4337 standard, these wallets offer game-changing capabilities. Users can log in without passwords, make gasless transactions, and even recover their wallets through social verification or other logic-based tools. These features reduce friction and open the door to broader, more intuitive crypto adoption.
The data backs up this shift. The report shows Coinbase Smart Wallet surged from 15,000 to over 40,000 weekly active users in just three months—from January to April 2025—driven largely by its integration with Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2. This tight integration creates a powerful flywheel where onboarding and usage reinforce each other. Notably, Base now accounts for 65% of smart wallet deployments and a staggering 87% of all UserOperations, establishing it as the network of choice for smart wallet transactions.
While Safe leads in raw deployments—with over 43 million accounts—it’s important to note that many of these are backend implementations, often spun up automatically by apps like Worldcoin. In contrast, wallets like Coinbase’s are seeing high direct consumer engagement, with user retention nearing 60%. This signals that consumer-facing smart wallets are not just gaining traction—they’re becoming critical to user retention and experience.
The bottom line? Smart wallets have gone from being optional add-ons to core infrastructure for the next generation of Web3 apps. Whether they’re embedded invisibly or used directly, they’re redefining how users interact with crypto—and setting the standard for UX going forward.
2. Wallets Are Becoming the Superapps of Crypto Finance
Much like WeChat or Grab in Asia, crypto wallets are rapidly transforming into superapps—offering everything from payments and staking to gaming and DeFi. This trend reflects the merging of functionality and convenience. Users no longer need to hop across multiple platforms to swap tokens, stake assets, or play blockchain games—it’s all right there in their wallets. These all-in-one hubs are simplifying access to the complex world of Web3.
Modern wallets now support a host of integrated features. Users can swap tokens directly, like exchanging ETH for USDC, without relying on centralized exchanges. They can stake assets and earn passive income, bridge tokens across blockchains, and access decentralized finance tools with just a few clicks. Gaming is also being reshaped, with wallets acting as inventory managers for in-game assets, NFTs, and currencies.
Adoption is surging in line with these expanded capabilities. Binance Wallet processes over 33 million token swaps weekly, moving nearly $9 billion in volume. Meanwhile, Phantom Wallet has reached 10 million swaps per week—accounting for almost 20% of all Solana network activity during peak times. These figures show how wallets are not only evolving—they’re becoming transaction engines for entire blockchain ecosystems.
Infrastructure players like Privy and Reown are helping make this future possible. Privy, for example, enables developers to spin up secure wallets in under 200 milliseconds at login. This makes onboarding seamless, especially for users who aren’t yet crypto-native. In 2025, even AI agents have their own crypto wallets—showing just how deep and flexible the infrastructure has become.
3. Global Adoption Trends Reveal a Tale of Two Wallet Worlds
One of the most revealing insights from the Dune and Addressable report is the geographic split in wallet preferences and usage. In Asia, custodial wallets like OKX and Bitget dominate, thanks to their user-friendly interfaces and strong brand trust. OKX alone holds a massive share of wallet capital in countries like China and South Korea. These custodial models offer simplified access for users, making them attractive to newer entrants to the crypto space.
Meanwhile, in emerging markets like Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, non-custodial wallets such as MetaMask and Phantom are thriving. These users prefer wallets that offer full control and ownership of private keys—often due to mistrust in centralized institutions or an eagerness to participate directly in Web3. Interestingly, while user activity is booming in these regions, the majority of capital still resides in countries like the U.S., South Korea, and parts of Europe.
According to Asaf Nadler, COO and Co-Founder of Addressable, their data covered 20 leading wallets and 15 million users. Two standout insights emerged: First, emerging markets are leading global crypto adoption and deserve more strategic attention. Second, wallet usage is concentrated among fewer than 10 key players, indicating fierce competition but also immense opportunity for differentiation.
These findings carry strategic implications. Wallet providers must adopt dual strategies: focusing on user acquisition and onboarding in emerging markets, while also managing and monetizing high-capital users in wealthier regions. It’s a nuanced challenge, but one that defines the next wave of global Web3 adoption.
Crypto Wallets Are Becoming the Front Door of Web3
If you’re tracking crypto’s evolution, it’s clear that wallets are no longer just utility tools—they are frontline gateways into the digital economy. Smart wallets are becoming the bedrock of Web3 UX, superapp functionality is transforming engagement, and regional usage patterns are shaping growth strategies. Wallets now influence everything from identity to asset management to financial inclusion.
Looking forward, wallets will continue to evolve into comprehensive solutions. Thanks to emerging standards like Ethereum’s EIP-7702, even traditional wallets can now upgrade to programmable, smart wallets—offering users more power and flexibility. This kind of modular innovation ensures wallets remain future-proof and accessible to both new users and crypto veterans.
We’re at a turning point. As crypto moves from early adoption to mass utility, wallets will define the user journey more than ever before. Expect smarter features, more seamless onboarding, and deeper integration with everyday digital life. Buckle up—because wallets aren’t just evolving—they’re transforming how we live, transact, and build in the digital age.
