Crypto super apps seek daily use through payments

What happened

Four panels hosted by ChangeNOW at TOKEN2049 Singapore brought together representatives from MetaMask, Trezor, WalletConnect and other firms to discuss how crypto products can reach more people. The sessions returned repeatedly to a single idea: payments may supply the frequent, routine activity that token swaps often do not.

Rubic co-founder Aleksandra Korneva noted that many people who use swap services have no reason to transact every day. Pulsar Money CEO Alex Radu pointed to payments and trading as two possible foundations for apps that bundle several financial services. She said users chiefly want to transact in a way that is safe, secure and inexpensive.

CoinRoutes' Michelle Herman took a more cautious view of an app that attempts to cover everything. She argued that specialized services still have a place and emphasized both the protection of customer information and dependable execution.

During the wallet discussion, Yana, ChangeNOW's head of business development and account management, cited gas requirements as one source of friction in cross-chain swaps. A MetaMask representative discussed using AI agents to carry out transactions. Trezor software product lead Denis described exploring how a hardware device could let users approve actions initiated by agents, while warning that simplifying an interface should not mean hiding every detail. Information should stay available when users need it, he said.

Why it matters

For crypto apps that want to become everyday tools, occasional swaps may not be enough to build a habit. Payments, by contrast, can recur and fit into ordinary financial activity, which helps explain why speakers treated them as a possible anchor for multi-service apps. The panels also showed that the path is not simply a matter of adding features. WalletConnect's Diana Alexandrova argued on the infrastructure panel that everyday payments should not require technical expertise, saying users do not have to be cryptographers. Aztec Labs raised privacy as another condition for broader adoption, noting that businesses would not want employee payments to be publicly visible. Banxa called for cooperation among specialized infrastructure providers, while RocketX described pulling liquidity from different sources into one interface. Together, those comments suggest super apps may need to combine partners and careful design rather than centralize everything.

Background

TOKEN2049 Singapore provided the setting for the ChangeNOW-hosted panels, which drew on wallet, hardware and infrastructure companies. A separate discussion on audience growth considered how users will find crypto products as AI reshapes search. Media participants said they are putting more effort into interviews, podcasts and direct relationships with readers as search traffic becomes harder to rely on. CoinEasy offered a local perspective, saying its Korean community and domestic search presence had limited the impact so far. It also described efforts to reach people through AI tools and to expand offline events and physical products for its community.

What to watch

Several questions from the panels remain open. One is how wallet makers will balance automated, agent-driven transactions with clear user approval, particularly when hardware devices are involved. Another is whether privacy features designed for business payments can become practical for everyday users. The discussions also pointed to a discovery challenge: as AI changes search, crypto firms may need to rely less on search traffic and more on direct audience relationships. The reports did not include adoption figures or timelines, so the next point to watch is how these ideas move from panel discussion into products.

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