Stablecoin wallets challenge traditional bank accounts as main consumer money hub

Traditional bank accounts are not vanishing just yet, but their role as the sole place where consumers hold and move money is being increasingly challenged by stablecoins and other digital wallets, according to a new report by consulting firm Bain.

An indicator of legacy consumer accounts facing growing competition is the fact that banks’ revenue share, for example, is forecast to slide from 80% today to 69% by 2030, according to the report. In the early 2000s, incumbent banks accounted for 95% of revenues, Bain said.

Neobanks have challenged banks since they first emerged in 2009, but stablecoins wallets currently sit at the center of that debate. They can hold digital dollars, move money around the clock and work across borders without relying on account and routing numbers. The unresolved question is whether they replace the bank account or become a new layer built on top of banks.

Adrian Cachinero, co-founder of decentralized finance firm Steakhouse Financial, recently said bank accounts face an existential threat and that his daughter may never need to open one.

“The endgame is clear: one simple balance that’s always earning, with universal addresses, no more account and routing numbers, and passkey-style login,” said Ryne Saxe, CEO of crypto wallet company Eco. “Stablecoins are just better money. To attract users and be competitive, banks and fintechs have no choice but to build on stablecoin rails.”

Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of blockchain oracle network RedStone, said wallets are most likely to take share first in payments, rather than credit or savings.

“A bank account bundles three things: payments, savings and credit. Stablecoin wallets have already won payments in high-friction corridors,” he said. “Banks risk owning the license while wallets own the customer relationship.”

That is particularly relevant for international payments. Kazmierczak cited World Bank data putting the average cost of bank remittances at 14.99%, compared with a global average of 6.36%. Stablecoin transactions can settle in seconds for less than 1%, he said.

But the wallet does not necessarily mean self-custody or a world without banks.

“What I actually expect is that banks will start issuing tokenized deposits, interoperable with stablecoins, rather than stablecoin wallets simply replacing the bank account,” said Ran Goldi, senior vice president of payments at Fireblocks. “So less ‘stablecoins win,’ and more ‘the bank account becomes programmable.’”