According to 071 Research, stablecoins are no longer confined to the virtual asset market as utility tokens, but are expanding into the real economy, creating a new paradigm. In particular, with major fintech companies like Visa, PayPal, and Stripe moving to integrate stablecoins into their payment infrastructure, Web3 neobanks leveraging stablecoins are emerging as a viable model to replace traditional finance.
The circulation of stablecoins has nearly doubled from approximately $150 billion in 2022 to $300 billion as of December 2025, expanding their utility. Simultaneously, regulatory legislation for stablecoins, such as the US government's "GENIUS Act," is accelerating their institutional integration. In line with these institutional changes, neobanks are evolving to offer user-friendly card and account-based financial experiences, while leveraging blockchain technology. This is acting as a key enabler for the natural transition from traditional finance to on-chain finance.
071 Research explains the core of this evolution as "abstraction of complexity." By establishing a structure that eliminates the need for users to manage separate wallet addresses or manually change specific coins, swaps and settlements occur automatically on the backend. Web3 neobanks, in particular, empower users to directly control and manage their on-chain assets through self-custody wallets. By fully embedding the on/off ramp process within the app, they enable seamless asset flow without the need for a separate exchange.
One of the goals is to integrate both payments and investments within a single app. Web3 neobanks are designed to integrate with DeFi products and derivatives exchanges (PerpDEX), linking investment, holding, and consumption into a single loop. This allows users to secure liquidity for immediate payments even when holding interest-bearing assets on-chain. This structure maximizes asset utility and represents one of the most significant differences from traditional finance.
Meanwhile, the reality is that Web3 neobanks are still in their early stages. While many projects focus on card issuance and payment functionality, the resulting complete user experience remains limited. Consequently, the prevailing strategy is to attract early adopters through financial incentives such as fee waivers, token rewards, and paybacks. However, this leads to a market structure dependent on subsidies, raising questions about its long-term sustainability.
At this point, the survival strategy for Web3 neobanks converges on "conversion rate." Users acquired through initial subsidies must be quickly integrated into the on-chain experience, and this process must provide organic financial functions that integrate asset management, investment, and settlement. Developing beyond a simple payment app into a financial superapp requires building a sophisticated user experience that can achieve user lock-in.
In this context, the strategies of certain projects are noteworthy. For example, Ether.fi is implementing a model that supports collateral-based real-time payments without selling assets, while Tria integrates its own PerpDEX and yield farming features into its app, allowing users to generate profits without complex operations. 071 Research analyzed this strategy as a "payment Trojan horse" aimed at absorbing users' entire financial activity into the on-chain ecosystem.
Ultimately, Web3 neobanks move beyond exchange-based, on-chain approaches and aim for a new user experience: "invisible finance." The technical implementation is hidden in the backend, allowing users to enjoy the benefits of on-chain finance simply by using the app like a traditional banking app. As AI technology is integrated in the future, further optimizing and automating asset management, Web3 neobanks are poised to establish themselves as the perfect infrastructure for truly programmable finance.
Although still incomplete and unfinished form, Web3 neobanks are gaining attention as one of the most promising ways to achieve mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, alongside the proliferation of stablecoins. 071 Research emphasized the importance of continued attention to the structural evolution they will undergo within the interconnected network of on-chain, the real economy, and traditional finance.
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