In the fast-paced development of the crypto industry, mobile wallets are increasingly becoming a critical infrastructure. In its latest metrics analysis article, a16z emphasizes that to unlock the next wave of crypto user growth, user experiences must be closer to Web2 applications, and mobile wallets will play a vital role. More and more investors and developers are focusing on this sector. According to statistics, the number of mobile crypto wallet accounts surpassed 310M in 2024. However, building the “next-generation mobile crypto wallet” while balancing security, privacy, user experience, and high transaction concurrency remains a significant challenge for the industry.
This article will explore the key elements of building the next-generation mobile crypto wallet from three aspects: industry trends, functional innovation, and security systems. Using the UPCX wallet as an example, we will uncover practical implementations in this field.
1.Industry Trends: Mobilization and User Experience
The Rise of Mobile Clients
In recent years, the crypto space has seen a surge of new users, most of whom access the crypto world via smartphones. Compared to desktop clients, mobile platforms offer more flexibility for payments and operations, making them ideal for fragmented time usage scenarios.
Early in the crypto industry, services primarily catered to professional users with high demands for transaction speed and depth, while the needs of the general public for wallets were largely overlooked.
Mobile wallets are closer to “payment tools” and “application portals,” and their functions must be simple and user-friendly to quickly bring more everyday users into the crypto world.
Upgraded User Experience
Compared to traditional Web2 applications, traditional blockchain wallets suffer from pain points such as “complicated addresses, high private key risks, and unfriendly transaction processes.”
– Complex wallet addresses and private key management deter many potential users.
– Switching between multiple chains and currencies also increases operational barriers and learning costs.
How to make Web3 product experiences match or even surpass traditional mobile payment applications in terms of visual layout and operational flow is a key goal for the next generation of mobile wallets.
Integration of Payments and Application Ecosystems
Beyond payment scenarios, more and more decentralized applications (DApps) or on-chain services (e.g., on-chain communication) are deeply integrating with wallets. The next-generation mobile crypto wallet needs to support richer functionalities and more comfortable interactions, becoming the core gateway for users to “connect with the Web3 ecosystem.”
– Previously, crypto wallets primarily functioned as “asset management tools,” serving as tools only when transfers were needed.
– With the emergence of diverse on-chain applications, crypto wallets are gradually evolving into a “wallet + app store + connector” multi-functional platform.
2.Key Functional Innovations: The Case of the UPCX Wallet
Among the various projects dedicated to creating the “next-generation mobile crypto wallet,” UPCX has stood out. Since its launch in Q4 2024, the number of wallet accounts created has exceeded 400,000. Its emphasis on a series of features provides valuable insights into wallet innovation.
Named Accounts: Reducing Users’ “Address Anxiety”
Traditional blockchain wallet addresses are long, random strings that are hard for average users to distinguish or remember.
UPCX introduced the “Named Account” feature, allowing users to create accounts as easily as they create new email addresses. Users can complete payments with a simple, memorable string ID (such as a name or email) instead of a complicated address.
This innovation significantly lowers the operational barriers to crypto payments, enabling even non-technical users to own and operate wallets within minutes.
Diverse Payment Scenarios: Mobile, Tap-to-Pay, and Offline Payments
– Mobile Payments: Users can scan a QR code from the recipient or display a QR code for the payer to scan. This mirrors common mobile payment workflows and meets the mainstream needs of crypto payments.
– Tap-to-Pay: Using NFC technology, users can complete payments by tapping their smartphones or smartwatches on compatible terminals. This is particularly convenient for retail stores, public transportation, and similar scenarios.
– Offline Payments: This allows transactions to occur without an internet connection. Both devices temporarily store transaction data, which is uploaded for on-chain verification when either device reconnects to the internet. This ensures usability even in areas with poor connectivity or during power outages.
To prevent malicious exploitation of offline payments, UPCX designed a dedicated offline payment wallet that is managed through a “parent wallet.” This approach retains convenience while mitigating risks such as double payments or malicious repeated expenditures.
On-Chain Communication: Decentralized IM Extension
UPCX’s “Messenger” feature allows users to register and send messages through special transaction types on the blockchain.
– Message content is encrypted using specific encryption keys within the transaction, ensuring that only the communicating parties can view the messages.
– To prevent free messages from leading to DDoS attacks, UPCX limits the number of free messages that can be sent per second. Additional messages require a small fee. This ensures the reliability of the chat function while protecting the network from excessive usage.
3.Security Systems and Decentralization Balance
One of the major challenges in building next-generation mobile crypto wallets lies in balancing user security, privacy, and ease of use. Features like named accounts and offline payments involve rethinking the wallet’s underlying security architecture.
Private Key and Permission Management
In traditional models, users “forgetting” or “losing” private keys is a high-risk factor for wallet theft or asset loss.
Next-generation wallets must reduce the likelihood of user errors while avoiding the security weaknesses of “centralized private key storage.” For example:
– Multi-Signature
– Hardware Encryption Modules
– Social Recovery Mechanisms
These are all directions that can make private key management more flexible and reliable.
Balancing Decentralization and User Friendliness
Fully decentralized systems are often not beginner-friendly, requiring significant learning and operational effort. Conversely, fully centralized custody models deviate from the blockchain’s “decentralization” ethos and concentrate risks.
Projects like UPCX have made an effort to strike a balance in features like offline payments and named accounts:
– Providing sufficient tools and security restrictions.
– Clearly defining user responsibilities for private key management and recovery.
This ensures that the system remains coherent while allowing for timely interaction and error correction.
Rate-Limiting and Anti-Attack Mechanisms
Blockchain congestion hinders the large-scale adoption of crypto applications, especially in “free transaction” messaging systems or micropayment scenarios vulnerable to DDoS attacks.
– Imposing rate limits or small fees on free transactions or message sending can effectively prevent networks from being flooded with malicious traffic.
– Using smart contracts or on-chain rules to enforce throttling can deter attackers both technically and economically.
4.Outlook: Toward Truly “Mass Adoption” of Crypto Applications
When blockchain infrastructure can support the on-chain operations of hundreds of millions or even billions of users, mobile wallets will become “entry-level” products connecting everyday users with decentralized ecosystems.
With a strong focus on user experience, high-concurrency payment capabilities, and high availability, the next-generation mobile crypto wallet will no longer be just a specialized asset management tool. Instead, it could evolve into a super platform integrating “payments, social interactions, communication, and app stores.” UPCX has shown foresight in this regard.
Integration with Broader Application Scenarios
Smart contracts, NFTs, DeFi, GameFi… As the Web3 ecosystem grows richer, the role of mobile wallets will extend beyond “storing and accessing crypto assets” to becoming the true “multi-functional DApp gateway.”
Better New-User Education and Guidance
Although features like named accounts significantly lower usage barriers, new users still need operational guidance when first engaging with these wallets, such as:
– Security tips
– Private key management tutorials
Building visual, step-by-step guides will help beginners quickly integrate into the crypto world.
Globalization and Decentralization
Offline payments hold immense value in remote areas or emergency situations. These scenarios suggest that next-generation mobile wallets should pay more attention to usage in regions with weak infrastructure, creating truly “ubiquitous” payment and interaction services.
Conclusion
From industry trends to practical implementation, mobile crypto wallets are undergoing profound changes. Both a16z’s analysis and UPCX’s practices demonstrate that to achieve exponential growth in crypto users, mobile experiences must improve drastically, balancing security and performance to bring blockchain technology into everyday life.
Features such as named accounts, offline payments, NFC tap-to-pay, and on-chain communication are not only innovations on decades of traditional enterprise payment technologies but also active explorations of Web3’s limitless application scenarios.
As more projects invest in research and iteration, the roadmap for building next-generation mobile crypto wallets will become increasingly clear, ultimately ushering in the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies globally. May more developers and users participate in this journey and witness the prosperity and innovation of the next wave of the crypto industry.
More about UPCX:
UPCX is a blockchain-based open-source payment platform that aims to provide secure, transparent, and compliant financial services to global users. It supports fast payments, smart contracts, cross-asset transactions, user-issued assets (UIA), non-fungible tokens (NFA), and stablecoins. Moreover, it offers a decentralized exchange (DEX), APIs, and SDKs, allows customized payment solutions, and integrates POS applications and hardware wallets for enhanced security, building a one-stop financial ecosystem.
Official website: https://upcx.io/
X(upcxcmo): https://x.com/kokisato_upcx
Telegram: https://t.me/UPCXofficial
Discord: https://discord.gg/YmtgK7NURF
