Web3 Wallet Explained: Not a Puzzle Piece of Exchanges, but a Way Out
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Web3 Wallet Explained: Not a Puzzle Piece of Exchanges, but a Way Out
People have long been frustrated with MetaMask, so newcomers often harbor the ambition "I could replace it."
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsRecently, I came across news about Bitget Wallet launching its token. Yesterday, I saw that their trading volume surpassed MetaMask. As a seasoned DeFi player, I’d like to share some thoughts and observations on the wallet sector.
AI, Memes, DePIN, RWA—different narratives emerge one after another as the bull market approaches. Compared to these popular themes, the Web3 wallet narrative has not truly gained attention.
People have long been frustrated with MetaMask, so many newcomers harbor the mindset of “we can replace it.”
When it comes to application innovation, no one dares to claim first place over Chinese teams—and this holds true in the Web3 wallet space as well. While Western wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, and Rainbow each have their strengths, they fall short in actual usability. For example, most support only EVM-compatible chains or a limited number of blockchains. Built-in swap functions are often extremely basic and difficult to use. Some wallets are little more than signature or transaction triggers.
In contrast, wallets developed by Chinese teams stand out significantly. Let’s set aside Binance Web3 Wallet for now—it's relatively new. Despite Binance’s strong capabilities, breaking into the Web3 wallet space will require more resources and time.
Let’s focus instead on Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3 Wallet.
1. The Future Belongs to Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3
Here’s a bold prediction: in my view, the future of Web3 wallets lies with Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3 Wallet. Or, more precisely: the future belongs to wallets of the same type as Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3.
I highlight these two because they share striking similarities. First, both have strong ties to centralized exchanges and are widely perceived externally as part of their exchange’s Web3 strategy. Second, they are nearly identical in product positioning and functional architecture: all-in-one platforms, multi-chain ecosystems, centered around trading.
Let’s start with Bitget Wallet, formerly known as BitKeep, which was founded around 2018 but rose to prominence during the 2020 DeFi Summer. It’s an industry veteran that has weathered both bull and bear markets.
After Uniswap launched, BitKeep introduced a smart feature—DEX token price tracking. Today, tools like DexTool and DexScreener are everywhere, but back then, this function solved a major pain point for users trying to find opportunities on-chain. Almost every DeFi-savvy friend I know downloaded BitKeep, checking price rankings daily before trading.
This small story reflects Bitget Wallet’s team traits: adept at identifying user needs and pain points, then innovating accordingly.
Here’s another fact most people probably don’t know: the current standard structure of Web3 wallets—wallet + Swap + NFT marketplace + DApp—is actually defined by Bitget Wallet. Or at least, they were the first to implement what is arguably the optimal layout for wallet products.
Bitget Wallet has too many product innovations to list exhaustively. Here’s a subtle example: the gas fee issue. Users often want to transact but lack ETH for gas while holding other tokens (like USDT). Bitget Wallet introduced a gasless transaction feature, enabling successful trades even without ETH for gas fees. Another example: for purchasing low-liquidity altcoins, slippage settings can be tricky. Bitget Wallet offers an auto-slippage function that automatically sets a reasonable slippage rate, helping users complete purchases quickly.
If you’re not an active on-chain user, you might miss how thoughtful these details are. But such user-centric innovations permeate every aspect of the product. Those interested should try it firsthand.
Although backed by the OKX brand, OKX Web3 Wallet wasn’t initially well-known. As a user of both wallets, I clearly observed that OKX Web3 Wallet, as a latecomer, aggressively chased and imitated Bitget Wallet in both product positioning and feature design—and did so rapidly.
It wasn’t until OKX Web3 Wallet successfully bet on the inscription trend that it attracted massive user attention. This success involved courage, luck, and substantial team resources. Reportedly, OKX Web3 Wallet’s R&D team consists of several hundred people—truly a high-spending powerhouse.
Currently, OKX Web3 Wallet has largely caught up with Bitget Wallet in terms of functionality and optimization. Its key features need not be repeated here.
Why do I believe the future of Web3 wallets belongs to Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3?
If a wallet is merely a private key manager or transaction signer, its value is limited. But we’ve seen wallets evolve dramatically—they are now gateways, aggregators, and even decentralized ecosystem platforms.
Take Bitget Wallet: it includes wallet functions, market data tools, DEX trading, launchpad, NFT aggregation marketplace—the full suite. Every feature users want is there, with user experience rivaling consumer-grade Web2 apps. This is what a future-ready, mass-adoption Web3 wallet should look like.
MetaMask still retains a large user base thanks to first-mover advantage and brand recognition. But data shows its market share is gradually being eroded. Like Apple replacing Nokia or Blur overtaking OpenSea, if MetaMask fails to innovate significantly, it will become nothing more than a monument to admire in the history of Web3 wallets.
Looking closely at today’s Web3 wallet landscape, the real contenders are essentially just Bitget Wallet and OKX Web3 Wallet. These two are currently racing ahead—not only leading in position but also far surpassing slower-moving Western wallets in speed and execution.
Moreover, compared to centralized exchanges, wallets—a decentralized product—have higher barriers to entry. They require deep technical expertise and extensive experience to build a truly usable product. Whether it’s Binance Web3 Wallet or others, catching up will be extremely difficult.
2. Web3 Wallets Are Not a Puzzle Piece for Exchanges—They’re an Exit Strategy
The other day, I saw a friend post on social media: “Web3 wallets aren’t a puzzle piece for exchanges—they’re an exit strategy.” I strongly agree with this perspective.
Regulatory compliance is an inevitable trend. Whether it’s positive developments like BTC spot ETF approvals or negative ones like recent lawsuits against executives from Binance and KuCoin, they all point in the same direction.
Compliance often means self-censorship—abandoning certain businesses and profits. Currently, many issues can be resolved through fines, but what about the future? In the face of increasingly stringent regulations, what is the path forward—or fallback—for centralized exchanges?
Even setting aside compliance concerns, centralized exchanges face challenges in the future.
For spot trading, mainstream assets like BTC will likely see volume captured by ETFs. Altcoins and meme coins will be dominated by various on-chain DEXs. In fact, it’s now nearly impossible for any exchange to replicate Matic’s earlier success by focusing on niche altcoins.
Take recent meme coins: individual tokens achieve billions or even tens of billions in on-chain trading volume—fast, frequent, unpredictable. Centralized exchanges either rush to list them, risking scams or rug pulls, or wait cautiously—only to find the rally already over by the time they list, leaving them with minimal gains and little more than visibility.
If DeFi Summer was a decentralized awakening, then inscriptions and memes represent a full-blown decentralized mass movement. Users’ pursuit of fairness and decentralization, and their rebellion against capital-driven narratives, has reached boiling point.
Exchanges like Binance with BSC, Huobi with Heco Chain, and OKX with OKC have all tried building their own chains. But creating a chain requires massive investment. Especially now, when one-click chain deployment makes launching easy—but ecosystem building hard. Why else would Avalanche’s founder repeatedly court meme coin projects?
So, what is the way forward—or fallback—for centralized exchanges?
Wallets! Wallets are utility tools—lightweight and flexible. They can plug into any major ecosystem like a USB drive, or serve as smartphones for decentralized applications. Most importantly, participation in decentralized ecosystems requires using a wallet.
OKX Web3 Wallet shares the same app as OKX’s centralized exchange. I’m unsure of the exact rationale behind this design, but personally, I think it allows CeFi users easier access to on-chain services, while on-chain users can seamlessly switch to the exchange. Though perhaps not “pure enough,” the experience works well—an effective fusion of CeFi and DeFi with mutual traffic referral.
Over the past year, OKX’s exchange has been extremely conservative and lagging in spot trading—almost invisible. Yet its wallet division has grown rapidly. This may well be a strategic move to prepare for regulatory uncertainty. Perhaps one day, OKX Web3 Wallet will spin off from the main exchange—that’s the kind of fallback I mean.
Bitget Wallet, formerly BitKeep, recovered strongly after a hack incident with proactive compensation—something like rising from the ashes. With Bitget’s backing, its momentum has accelerated rapidly, achieving significant growth in metrics and brand influence.
Recently, Bitget Wallet launched its token, conducting vampire attacks on wallets like MetaMask. It also partnered with Avalanche, Aptos, and dozens of other notable projects on the BWB ecosystem initiative. While partly a branding strategy, this is primarily an aggressive move to drive further growth via its platform token.
Additionally, Bitget Wallet recently emphasized what I consider a compelling direction: “new assets” and “new opportunities,” heavily promoting its trading capabilities.
This shows the team clearly understands the core of the current industry and user demands: asset issuance and trading. Before DEXs emerged, CEXs were the main battlefield. In the future, discovery and trading of assets in decentralized markets will become central. On this front, Bitget Wallet already has a head start—and I look forward to seeing more innovative moves from them.
Still, just as you can’t predict bull or bear markets, you can’t foresee exactly how the wallet race will unfold. Whether for Bitget Wallet, OKX Web3 Wallet, or newcomers like Binance Web3 Wallet, the journey within the decentralized ecosystem remains long.
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