Crypto Platforms Pursue Everyday-Money-App Status

Even when he has no payment to make, ChangeNOW's director of strategic partnerships Martin Masser occasionally opens his banking application. At times he simply wants to view his available funds.

“I check my banking app all the time,” Masser, who serves as ChangeNOW's director of strategic partnerships, explained during a conversation at TOKEN2049 in Singapore.

Digital-asset platforms are aiming for that same spot in users' daily routines. Their "super app" concept combines token swaps with functions like payments and loans, providing individuals with motivations to come back to the app between trades. It remains an open question, however, whether these services will truly become a regular habit.

What Encourages Reruns When No Trade is Needed?

When asked about whether demand exists for super apps in crypto, Masser began by pointing out the boundaries of token swapping. A segment of traders buy and sell continuously. Others might conduct a swap every couple of days or just once a week.

He cited inspecting gains and looking over past trades as motives for launching an app when no new transaction is intended. He drew a parallel with the banking world, where it is common for clients to examine their funds without transferring them.

“The more use cases that you get, the more you start using,” he said.

Kaiko research from 2026 charts how exchanges are branching out into wider financial ecosystems, linking trading balances with yield instruments and expenditure services. Consolidating these activities within a single platform increases its chances of holding onto both customers and the capital they hold.

Masser provided instances of this user behavior, but the conversation did not feature any retention statistics demonstrating how widespread this trend is across ChangeNOW.

Does a Single Return Reason Serve Everyone?

A super app can offer a broad set of financial tools and actions. Does it require a single, recurring user activity to dominate? Masser made the case that various clients could develop distinct habits around the same product.

“People use the apps in very different ways,” he said. Drawing on his earlier work in banking product development, he added: “We aren’t the user.”

Someone looking at their balance might not be attracted to loan products. A high-frequency trader might place greater emphasis on swap costs. Masser mentioned AML wallet screening for money-laundering risk among the functions in ChangeNOW Pro.

His reasoning accommodates less active users. An application can become valuable across a person's financial activities without requiring the constant engagement typical of messaging platforms.

What Prevents Money Transfers From Requiring Fewer Apps?

For certain users the draw is quite practical. They get USDT on a particular blockchain but require it on a different network.

Masser characterized this scenario as a frequent issue raised by clients. A transfer that appears straightforward to the receiver may involve navigating unknown processes across different chains.

He shared a personal example of buying digital assets on one platform and transferring them somewhere else to execute a swap. Combining those stages into a single environment could also aid users in finding functions that match their evolving requirements.

“It’s much easier to have it in one place,” he said.

This constitutes the functional argument for a more comprehensive application: minimizing the number of distinct steps needed to finish a single financial job. Introducing additional services is beneficial only when navigating between them also simplifies.

At What Point Does a Super App Become Cluttered?

This situation poses a design issue. Masser was asked by the interviewer how platforms could continue adding capabilities without making the user interface feel overloaded.

“There’s no point adding something that doesn’t make sense for the product,” Masser said.

He offered the idea of ordering McDonald's within a crypto app as an illustration of a function that might seem incongruous. His standard was whether the services align and permit users to transition smoothly between one activity and another.

This logic imposes a boundary on growth. Each extra feature requires users to grasp an additional option. A service promising simplicity can inadvertently become more challenging to use.

Telegram's User Base Did Not Guarantee Customers

Masser previously witnessed a different belief prove incorrect while working at the TON Foundation: the idea tapping a vast audience would automatically lead to a winning product.

He remembered groups releasing applications within Telegram, counting on the platform's broad distribution to attract users. According to Masser, they later came back with the frustration: “Martin, we’ve got no users.”

His reply was blunt: “Have you done any marketing?”

He noted that effective teams had taken time to understand market desires and actively worked to connect with that audience. This lesson shapes the questions he currently directs at developers regarding their product's purpose and definition of success.

“Just because you think you have a big audience does not mean you’re going to have a naturally successful product.”

What Occurs When the Partnership Announcement Ends?

The same principle applies to partnerships, which is Masser's area of focus at ChangeNOW.

“You don’t want to have a partnership just to have your name on a press release,” he said.

He outlined the continuous effort needed to grasp a partner's client base and assist in matching a product with its audience. A company might start by integrating swap functionality, then bring in payment services at a subsequent stage.

Developers can link ChangeNOW's offerings to their own software through its API. Masser stated this approach can spare teams from having to create those capabilities themselves and handling ongoing support for emerging blockchains.

“Maybe what you’re starting out with isn’t the finished product,” he said. His view of a partnership leaves room for that product to change after launch.

Might the 'Crypto' Label Eventually Fade?

Stablecoins provide a real-world test for this goal. Recent analyses project that stablecoin payments reached at least $401 billion in the first eight months of 2026, a 42% increase compared to the same span the prior year.

An estimated 58% to 64% of that payment volume was captured by businesses, meaning the data does not point to extensive consumer usage.

Masser referenced jurisdictions where stablecoins are already a more regular tool in daily financial life as a justification for expanding services beyond simply storing or trading tokens.

Asked about the measure of success for crypto super apps in five years' time, he replied: “That you are using it in day-to-day life without realizing it’s a crypto super app.”

For the firms developing these platforms, success entails securing a position in standard financial habits. The individual must have a cause to launch the app even when no transaction is planned.