Are Fintech Apps Replacing Exchanges as Crypto’s Main Gateway?
Crypto is being taken over by fintech applications as the primary gateway for cryptocurrencies, new studies have shown.
This is because neobanks and payment platforms increasingly allow users to buy, hold and trade crypto assets directly within their existing financial apps, reducing the need for dedicated cryptocurrency exchanges.
Tiger Research and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) both project this shift will accelerate through 2026, changing how new users first access crypto markets worldwide.
How Fintech Apps Are Absorbing Crypto Trading
Revolut has integrated Uniswap directly into its banking app, giving its user base access to decentralized exchange swaps.
The feature sits alongside salary deposits and everyday spending tools already familiar to customers. Users no longer need a separate exchange account to trade digital assets. Instead, they can access decentralized swaps from within an application they already use for everyday financial services.
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) has taken a similar path, positioning itself as a financial “super-app” rather than solely a crypto platform. The company processed $4.6 trillion in trading volume last year.
It has also launched tokenized shares across Europe, expanding beyond traditional stock trading. Crypto now appears alongside stock investments, retirement savings and prediction markets within the same application.
PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD has grown substantially in circulation over the past year. Klarna, which previously rejected cryptocurrency integration in 2022, has also shifted its position and is now exploring crypto-related services. These developments suggest that several fintech firms increasingly view stablecoins and digital assets as part of their broader financial infrastructure, although their level of integration differs by company.
Robinhood’s crypto head, Johann Kerbrat, described the company’s goal as “creating a faster, smarter, and more connected future for each investor.” Revolut representatives have similarly emphasized expanding digital asset access within existing financial products.
Why Regulation Is Speeding Up the Shift Toward Fintech Apps
Tiger Research characterizes this movement as a structural shift rather than a passing trend. Regulatory frameworks are providing greater legal certainty for fintech firms to integrate crypto services into existing products.
In the United States, the GENIUS Act establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, while Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation provides licensing and compliance rules for crypto service providers operating across the European Union.
These regulatory frameworks reduce uncertainty for companies seeking to integrate crypto-related services into broader financial products. However, firms must still comply with licensing, consumer protection and jurisdiction-specific requirements before offering those services.
As a result, users can increasingly access crypto through financial applications they already use instead of opening accounts with dedicated exchanges. Existing banking relationships and familiar user interfaces may reduce onboarding friction for new participants.
Meanwhile, some exchanges are moving in the opposite direction by adding fintech capabilities. Bybit is developing MyBank, a product designed to provide users with fiat accounts and IBAN functionality.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has also stated that the company aims to become customers’ primary financial account over time.
This creates a two-way convergence between exchanges and fintech platforms. Exchanges are adding banking features while banking applications continue integrating crypto functionality, further blurring the distinction between the two categories.
What This Shift Means for Exchanges and Fintech Platforms
New users increasingly may not perceive themselves as entering a separate cryptocurrency ecosystem. Instead, crypto is becoming one feature within a broader financial application that also includes payments, savings and investing.
This shift could influence how platforms design products and onboard customers.
Revolut can introduce crypto services to its existing customer base without acquiring entirely new users. Robinhood, PayPal and Klarna similarly benefit from established customer relationships that may lower adoption barriers for new crypto features.
For traditional exchanges, competition increasingly comes not only from other crypto-native platforms but also from fintech companies with millions of existing users.
At the same time, exchanges are expanding into banking-style services while fintech firms continue adding crypto functionality. The result is an increasingly competitive market where the distinction between crypto platforms and digital financial applications continues to narrow.
Rather than replacing exchanges entirely, this trend suggests that fintech applications are becoming an increasingly important entry point into digital assets, while dedicated exchanges continue evolving into broader financial service providers.