Gate Research Institute: Wallet entry position rises, CEX boundary accelerates to extend on-chain

PANews January 9th News, Gate Research Institute recently released the report “Evolution of Crypto Wallets and On-Chain CEX,” which outlines the entire process of wallet evolution from the private keys and signing tools of the Bitcoin era to the core entry point of on-chain finance. The report points out that the DeFi Summer transformed wallets from low-frequency asset management tools into essential gateways for dApps; after 2022, All-In-One wallets became the mainstream approach, demonstrating capabilities in high-frequency scenarios such as inscriptions and Memes, gradually gaining stronger control over transaction paths and traffic distribution.

The report further states that as the VCcoins wealth effect diminishes and new on-chain assets and high-yield opportunities spill over, the long-term on-site trading model of CEX users is challenged, forcing CEX to accelerate its on-chain strategy, moving towards embedded wallets, and extending compliance, fiat channels, and existing user bases into the on-chain ecosystem.

Using Gate Web3 as an example, the report notes that on-chain CEX is not a simple copy of the non-custodial wallet model, but rather a deep integration of CEX’s account system, trading capabilities, and on-chain applications while maintaining user asset sovereignty, thereby enhancing asset retention and user lifecycle value. The Gate Research Institute believes that the industry is entering a phase of functional reorganization: financial capabilities that can be on-chain and modular are continuously migrating to wallets, while CEX responds to boundary erosion through on-chainization and ecosystem binding.