Over the past two years, as the crypto market weathered intense cyclical shakeouts, discussions about a "crypto downturn" have become increasingly prominent. However, what’s receding isn’t the wave of technology itself, but the speculative bubble that grew unchecked in the early days. Now, as the dust settles, a new form of financial infrastructure is emerging—Neobanks. These aren’t just traditional banks with a modern app interface; they’re evolving into unified platforms that bridge the worlds of fiat and crypto.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global neobanking market surpassed $210 billion in 2025 and is projected to soar to $7.6 trillion by 2034, with a staggering compound annual growth rate of 49.30%. This shift marks a deep fusion of traditional finance’s stability and the convenience of crypto payments, all facilitated by neobanks.
From Rejection to Regulatory Coexistence: The Changing Attitude of Traditional Finance
For years, traditional banks systematically excluded crypto businesses. The lack of clear regulatory frameworks and concerns over anti-money laundering risks led financial institutions to shut their doors to crypto companies, sometimes even severing ties entirely in a process known as "de-risking." Yet, with regulatory measures like Europe’s MiCA coming into effect, this deadlock is starting to break.
Today, neobanks such as Revolut and N26 are actively embracing cryptocurrencies. They offer not only traditional multi-currency accounts, IBANs, and SEPA payments, but also integrated crypto buying, storage, and yield features. For example, licensed neobanks like SEBA allow users to securely trade digital assets directly within their apps. This shift signals a move from a rigid "black-or-white" stance to regulatory coexistence: leveraging blockchain technology for faster settlements while preserving traditional finance’s user experience and compliance standards.
Redefining Money Across Four Dimensions: Store, Spend, Grow, Borrow
To understand how crypto payments are becoming part of everyday life, let’s examine how neobanks are reshaping four core financial behaviors:
Store: Saving is no longer just about bank deposits. It now combines self-custody wallets and fiat savings. Hardware wallets like Ledger provide security and ownership, while neobanks offer convenient gateways to convert fiat into stablecoins for storage.
Spend: This is where the deepest integration occurs. With Visa and Mastercard now supporting stablecoin payments, products like the MetaMask Card and Etherfi Card allow users to spend on-chain assets for everyday offline purchases.
Grow: On the asset appreciation front, neobanks are integrating on-chain yield products. For instance, Coinbase lets users earn up to 4% rewards simply by holding USDC, effectively packaging DeFi yields into a familiar bank account experience.
Borrow: Blockchain-based lending protocols such as Morpho are replacing cumbersome bank loan applications. Through smart contracts, users can access permissionless, efficient on-chain borrowing.
Gate’s Positioning: From Exchange Platform to Intelligent Web3 Financial Gateway
Amid this wave of convergence, exchanges are evolving beyond trading venues to become foundational infrastructure for the neobank ecosystem. As a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, Gate leverages its deep liquidity and strategic moves into traditional finance to drive this trend forward.
At the Consensus HK conference in February 2026, Gate founder Dr. Han introduced the concept of "Intelligent Web3." He emphasized that as user growth slows and asset complexity rises, the industry needs smarter financial architectures. Since its founding in 2013, Gate has grown from a single trading platform into a comprehensive Web3 ecosystem, serving over 49 million users and managing more than $10 billion in assets.
Notably, Gate has begun integrating traditional financial assets into its trading products. The platform supports spot trading for over 4,400 cryptocurrencies (with an average daily trading volume of about $6 billion) and now offers CFD trading, enabling users to trade stocks, metals, indices, and commodities. This hybrid model—combining traditional finance tools with crypto settlement (USDT)—is precisely the kind of "mixed finance" neobanks are aiming for.
Additionally, Gate’s recently upgraded contract points system now includes traditional finance trading volume in its rewards calculation. This means users who trade traditional financial assets on Gate also receive ecosystem incentives. By breaking down the barriers between crypto and traditional assets, Gate delivers a deeply integrated user experience.
Regulatory Tightening: Compliance as Core Competitiveness
As neobanks rise, regulators are quickly stepping in. Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF recently issued a notice banning payment institutions without banking licenses from using misleading terms like "neobank," and imposed strict requirements on governance, fund segregation, and risk controls.
Clearer regulation is beneficial for the industry’s long-term health. It forces crypto neobanks to operate with proper licenses, safeguard client funds, and build robust compliance frameworks. This aligns perfectly with Gate’s strategy—Gate is actively pursuing registration and licensing in 79 jurisdictions worldwide, including major financial hubs like Malta, Japan, and Dubai.
Conclusion
Looking ahead, the line between traditional finance and crypto payments will continue to blur. Users will care less about whether their funds move via SWIFT or blockchain, and more about whether they can save, pay, invest, and borrow—all from a single interface.
As Pantera Capital’s research suggests, crypto neobanks may first break through in high-turnover areas like yield and lending, then gradually expand into payments and storage. Leading players like Gate are laying the foundation for this unified financial operating system by building "Intelligent Web3" infrastructure.
In this new world after the crypto downturn, survival belongs not to speculative tools, but to neobank ecosystems that truly combine the stability of traditional finance with the efficiency of crypto payments. Gate stands at the forefront of this convergence.
