How Crypto Wallets Make Money: Key Revenue Models Explained

Building your own cryptocurrency wallet is one of the most popular business directions in the Web3 space. And despite the large number of alternatives, wallets continue to find their users, as more and more people start using digital currencies. By the end of 2026, over 200 million people are expected to use blockchain wallets, making digital wallet development an attractive opportunity for investors.

However, in practice, many wallet businesses struggle with poor profitability. High development costs, security bugs, ineffective marketing strategies, and poorly designed monetization models often prevent projects from becoming sustainable. In this article, we will share proven revenue models for crypto wallet owners, including different types of fees, crypto exchange API integrations, affiliate programs, and more. We will review the pros and cons of each approach and analyze which models are the most scalable in 2026.

Why Monetization Matters for Crypto Wallets

Generating consistent and scalable revenue from a wallet business is not optional—it is a necessity driven by how these products operate. Cold Storage wallets mainly earn from device sales. Others need to search for the best combination of earning features.

A wallet is a full-fledged product that continuously consumes resources. Infrastructure must be maintained, security issues must be addressed, and the product has to be constantly improved in order to stay competitive in a crowded market.

Custodial vs Non-Custodial Wallet

The custody model directly affects how services can generate revenue. There are two main types of crypto wallets: custodial and non-custodial — and the difference between them is critical for monetization.

Custodial Wallets:

• The platform holds user funds
• The platform can:
  • Earn interest on balances
  • Use liquidity in circulation
  • Charge withdrawal or storage fees
• The model is closer to fintech apps or centralized exchanges

Custodial wallets may appear more profitable at first glance. In reality, however, storage fees almost never work as a sustainable revenue source: users expect wallets themselves to be free and are only willing to pay for specific actions. In a market with thousands of free wallet alternatives, it is extremely difficult to force users to accept storage fees. Only large, well-known brands with strong perceived value can realistically make this model work.

Non-Custodial Wallets:

• Users fully control their private keys
• The wallet does not control user assets
• The wallet cannot:
  • Charge for storage
  • Use user funds for liquidity or circulation

The non-custodial model is generally more attractive to users, which is why it has become so popular. It is considered safer and more convenient. However, from a business perspective, monetization becomes more challenging, because revenue does not occur automatically and must be built through additional services and integrations.

There is a common misconception that wallets monetize in the same way as exchanges. In reality, they play very different roles within the ecosystem. To make this distinction clearer, let’s look at the comparison below:

In other words, a wallet is not a trading participant. It simply connects users to other services and protocols. That is why it cannot replicate the economics of an exchange, even if it offers built-in swap functionality.

Growing Competition

The rising popularity of digital financial solutions has made the crypto wallet market highly competitive. Today, there are thousands of companies building wallet products. From large, well-established players like Coinbase, Ledger, and Trezor to numerous smaller providers, exchanges with built-in wallets, and specialized DeFi/Web3 platforms.

According to industry reports, by the end of 2024 there were more than 3,000 Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) operating in Europe alone. Among all crypto-related business categories, wallets ranked as the second most common type of service, highlighting how crowded this segment has become.

The market is highly dynamic, with new companies constantly emerging to meet diverse user needs — such as multi-chain support, hardware-level security, and integration into various applications for user convenience, including games and social networks.

And while UX is more important than ever today, a good interface alone is no longer enough to retain users. The winners are those who offer more functionality inside the wallet, which naturally increases how often users interact with the product — and that is where the potential for additional revenue comes from.

The Economics of Crypto Wallets: Where Revenue Actually Comes From

If wallets can’t earn enough from fees the way exchanges do, and they operate in an extremely competitive environment, how do they survive — especially when we see several market giants generating billions in revenue? The answer is that successful wallets rely on multiple revenue streams at once. Let’s break them down one by one.

Transaction Fees & Crypto Wallet Fees

When a user makes a transaction on the platform, they pay a small amount for each successful transaction. This fee may go either to the blockchain network itself or to miners (validators), depending on how the transaction is structured. The size of the fee depends on factors such as transaction limits, speed, and overall network efficiency.

• Service fees: In addition to network transaction fees, wallet providers may charge extra for premium features, enhanced customer support, higher security measures, and other value-added services.

• Network fees: In some cases, the total fee is split between the wallet provider and the miners. For example, when sending Bitcoin, part of the fee goes directly to Bitcoin miners, while the remaining portion is taken by the wallet provider.

Cons: As mentioned earlier, this revenue source cannot be the only one. On top of that, this type of income is hard to predict, which makes it difficult to fully rely on it to support and scale infrastructure in a stable way.

Fiat On- and Off-Ramps

For users, crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto transactions are a convenient feature. For wallet owners, they are an additional way to earn fees and expand the service offering. Businesses can earn a commission on every crypto purchase made via card or bank transfer.

The model usually works like this: the wallet integrates a third-party provider (such as MoonPay, TransFi, Guardarian, etc.) and receives a share of the fees based on referred traffic and transaction volume.

In other words, the wallet does not process fiat itself — it earns as a partner of the fiat on-ramp/off-ramp provider.

Pros: High user demand, especially among new users — there is no need to figure out alternative ways to buy crypto. The simplest option is to pay with a regular bank card in familiar currency.

Cons: Heavy regulatory dependence — such operations are not allowed in every country, and the rules can change quickly. In addition, users are often required to complete KYC checks when buying or selling crypto via fiat ramps, which adds friction to the flow and can significantly reduce conversion to completed transactions. There is also increased legal and compliance overhead for the service, even though the wallet technically acts only as a partner of the fiat provider.

Crypto Exchange API Integration: The Most Scalable Revenue Model

A crypto exchange API is designed to handle specific exchange flows: crypto-to-fiat, fiat-to-crypto-to-crypto, or crypto-to-crypto transactions — in other words, swaps. Such integrations can be embedded directly into wallets, Web3 apps, websites, or SaaS platforms. These APIs typically support a wide range of exchange pairs, offer straightforward integration, and provide flexible commission structures.

Why In-Wallet Exchanges Drive the Highest Revenue

Adding a built-in swap feature is a win-win. For users, it means convenient one-stop exchanges without leaving the wallet app or registering on a separate exchange. For businesses, it becomes a direct revenue source. Since the user is already inside the wallet, fewer steps mean higher conversion.

These actions happen regularly: users perform routine swaps, rebalance portfolios, and move between networks. If the interface and liquidity meet expectations, users will keep using the wallet for exchanges again and again.

Key Revenue Streams from Exchange Integrations

The wallet earns a percentage from every transaction, depending on the provider’s fee structure. On top of that, the wallet can add its own markup to the rate, allowing teams to manage revenue based on business goals.

There are two main pricing models: fixed-rate vs. floating-rate. Fixed rates offer higher margins but come with higher risk. Floating rates generate lower margins but are more transparent and usually fairer for users.

Wallets can also earn more from cross-chain swaps, which are often used by active traders. Fees are typically higher for these operations.

The ChangeNOW API allows wallets to earn from 0.4% per transaction — learn more about revenue opportunities for your wallet on the product page.

Build vs Integrate. Why Crypto Exchange APIs Win for Wallets

Instead of using a third-party solution, a business can always choose to build its own exchange. However, this path comes with serious risks that place heavy pressure on the core product — the wallet itself:

• High development costs
• Licensing and regulatory requirements
• The need to secure and maintain liquidity
• Risk of technical failures and financial losses

API-based solutions avoid these risks by offering predictable unit economics, stable exchange operations, and built-in scalability.

In our recent article, we covered the pros and cons of building your own exchange versus using ready-made solutions.

Pros:

• You monetize your existing traffic — there’s no need to acquire new users to start earning.
• You get regular and predictable revenue (thanks to controllable fee structures) and much faster time to market, since the API provider delivers a ready-to-use solution with minimal integration effort on your side.

Cons:

• Choosing the wrong provider can lead to issues with security, low liquidity, slow execution, and, as a result, loss of trust in your brand. To avoid these risks, we recommend reading our guide on how to choose the right partner.

Crypto Wallet Affiliate Programs

This revenue model works best for wallets with a large and active user base. At first glance, it may seem like this is simply about giving users referral links. But in reality, that alone does not generate revenue — new users by themselves do not automatically bring money to the wallet.

In this model, affiliate programs mean that the wallet places partner links and integrations directly inside the product. The wallet then earns a share of the partner’s fees when a user:

• Trades on an exchange
• Bridges assets between networks
• Stakes assets through a third-party provider

Pros:

• The affiliate model can generate steady income without building complex infrastructure.

Cons:

• If users open the wallet rarely, do not perform actions inside it, or if the audience is small, this strategy will not work. In many affiliate scenarios, users are also redirected outside the wallet to complete actions, which breaks the in-app experience and negatively impacts key product metrics such as retention, session depth, and overall engagement.
• In addition, this type of revenue is hard to predict and cannot be used as the sole foundation of the wallet’s business model.

Advertising

Some wallet apps display ads inside the interface. They may also promote specific tokens or crypto projects in exchange for a fee.

Cons: Intrusive advertising can hurt user experience and push users to switch to another wallet.

Premium Features & Value-Added Services

Wallets can also offer paid features that improve the user experience, such as:

• Removing ads
• More detailed transaction tracking
• Enhanced security measures
• Advanced backup and recovery options
• Corporate or team accounts

Example of Trust Wallet promoting its premium subscription inside the app.

This is rarely the main source of revenue for a wallet. However, if premium features clearly solve real user problems and are well positioned, some users are willing to pay for subscriptions.

Staking, Yield, and DeFi Access

Many wallets add staking and DeFi features to give users more ways to grow their assets without moving funds to external platforms. This can include simple staking delegation or access to yield aggregation protocols directly from the wallet interface. In both cases, the wallet earns a small commission from each interaction routed through its infrastructure.

Pros:

• When users can stake or earn yield without leaving the wallet, they naturally spend more time inside the app and keep more funds there. It turns the wallet from a place you open once in a while into something you actually use, which helps both retention and overall revenue — without forcing extra steps or aggressive monetization.

Cons:

• Revenue depends heavily on market conditions and user risk appetite — when markets are down, activity drops.
• On top of that, staking and DeFi products often face increasing regulatory scrutiny, which can limit availability in certain regions and add compliance complexity.

Verdict

Staking and DeFi are good at making the product more “sticky” and adding incremental revenue, but they are not something you can reliably build the whole business around. They work best as an add-on to core monetization flows like swaps and on-ramps, not as a standalone strategy.

Comparing Revenue Models: What Actually Scales in 2026

By 2026, not all monetization models will prove effective — some may even fade out in the coming years. Below, we compare the main revenue streams for crypto wallets and assess their scalability and future prospects.

How Crypto Wallets Combine Multiple Revenue Streams

A realistic revenue model for a modern crypto wallet combines several streams:

• Exchange integrations (central element)
• Fiat on- and off-ramps
• Staking & yield aggregation

Why Exchange Integrations Are the Core

Users already inside the wallet are easier to monetize, and frequent swapping activity creates repeatable revenue. Integrations also allow wallets to offer value-added services around liquidity, portfolio management, and cross-chain functionality.

Example of a Wallet-First Approach

A wallet prioritizes swaps and cross-chain moves while offering fiat purchases and staking as secondary services. This keeps users engaged inside a single interface, maximizes retention, and creates multiple income streams without relying on any single method.

Summary

A crypto wallet’s revenue shouldn’t come at the expense of the user experience. Users shouldn’t feel like they’re constantly “being charged” for using the product.

The deeper the integration of features, like in-wallet exchanges, fiat ramps, or staking, the higher the potential revenue and long-term user retention. Among these, a built-in exchange stands out as a sweet spot, offering a balance between smooth UX, predictable income, and scalability.

If you’re building or scaling a wallet, consider integrating an exchange via API rather than building one from scratch. Doing so lets you monetize swaps efficiently while keeping the experience seamless for your users.

Explore exchange integration options for your wallet.

FAQ

Which revenue model makes the most money?

Crypto exchange integration tends to generate the most predictable and scalable revenue, especially when combined with fiat ramps or staking options. Transaction fees and premium features can complement income but rarely work alone.

Is it technically difficult to integrate a ready-made swap solution?

No. Modern exchange APIs are designed for easy integration into wallets, Web3 apps, or SaaS platforms. They handle routing, liquidity, and rate calculations, so you can focus on your UX and user flow.

Are there any risks in relying on a partner's API?

Yes. Choosing the wrong partner can lead to slow execution, low liquidity, or even security issues. It’s crucial to evaluate provider reliability, uptime, and reputation before integrating.

How do we handle taxes on this income?

Tax treatment depends on your jurisdiction and the type of revenue (e.g., swap fees, affiliate commissions). Most wallets handle these as standard business income, but consulting a local tax professional is essential to stay compliant.