How Crypto Wallets Fit Into Investors’ Pockets

How Crypto Wallets Fit Into Investors’ Pockets

More players are beginning to arrive in the world of digital assets. Investors will have to think about what it means for their wallets—and for wallet stocks.

At the beginning of a person’s journey into the world of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, “wallet” often refers to what a traditional bank or brokerage account already does: hold a customer’s assets. It is a basic building block of crypto finance’s future. A wallet can be attached to an exchange for trading, used to make purchases with crypto, or to help access the world of nonfungible tokens and decentralized finance, or “DeFi.”



Many Americans started investing in crypto through dedicated platforms such as

Coinbase

Global. Others might have taken advantage of crypto trading at online brokers such as

Robinhood Markets

or

SoFi Technologies,

or via payment companies such as Square or

PayPal.

This relatively small group of mainstream firms offering crypto access has seen revenue surge during the recent boom, propelling public stock offerings and share-price gains.





Now the range of investments might be growing, with old-school financial firms offering ways to hold or trade crypto. Interactive Brokers launched crypto trading in September.

Visa

and

Mastercard,

through individual partnerships with crypto firms,