A new Delphi Digital report says crypto platforms are quietly evolving from simple trading venues into the “distribution layers” for everything users do in crypto — trading, payments, on‑chain apps and yield products. The company calls this shift the start of an “aggregation era,” where control over user relationships — the place people first log in, move money and discover products — will likely determine who brings in the next wave of mainstream users.
That vision revives the Asian “super app” model made famous by WeChat — one interface, endless functions — but it’s colliding with Western UX preferences and clearer regulatory scrutiny. Exchanges are betting that whoever owns the primary interface will also own order flow, liquidity distribution, stablecoins, staking, NFTs, gaming access and other distribution channels.
Binance is Delphi’s poster child for the monolithic super app approach. What began as a spot- and derivatives-trading platform has accreted adjacent features: Earn products, lending and staking, Binance Pay for payments, a Web3 wallet, and institutional services — all inside a single, dense interface. That consolidation makes discovery easy for users, but also concentrates operational and regulatory risk in one place.
Kraken represents the opposite strategy. Delphi describes Kraken’s “constellation” model as federated front ends built on a shared spine of liquidity, custody and identity. Rather than forcing everyone into one crowded app, Kraken is launching specialist experiences — Inky (memecoin entertainment), Krak (remittances and payments using stablecoins and yield) and Kraken Pro (traditional deep‑chart trading). The UXs are separate, but the rails behind them remain unified, letting Kraken keep distribution control while catering to different user preferences.
Other major players are moving toward the same endgame, even if they avoid the “super app” label. Coinbase has expanded into smart wallets, on‑chain discovery, staking and payments, positioning itself as a regulated, consumer‑friendly gateway to both trading and Web3. OKX, Bybit and others are adding in‑app Web3 wallets, NFT marketplaces and DeFi access — effectively wrapping on‑chain rails around their existing user bases.
Beneath these rollouts, Delphi argues, lies a larger battle for who controls app discovery and how regulators will classify these platforms. A single super app centralizes convenience — and concentrates oversight and systemic risk. A federated model spreads user interfaces, but preserves central control of custody, liquidity and identity infrastructure. The winner of that design debate will have outsized influence over how the next hundred million users are onboarded and under what terms.
What to watch next: product launches that expand discovery and payments, partnerships and acquisitions that tie more services into single interfaces, and regulatory guidance around platform liability and classification. Those moves will shape whether crypto’s future distribution layer looks like an all‑in‑one super app, a network of specialist hubs, or a hybrid of both.
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