Payments could give crypto applications the day-to-day frequency that token swaps alone often fail to provide, speakers said during four panels hosted by ChangeNOW at TOKEN2049 Singapore, a major crypto industry conference. The discussions brought together representatives from MetaMask, Trezor, WalletConnect and other firms to examine how crypto products can reach a wider audience.

Super Apps Need a Reason for Daily Transactions

In the super app panel, Rubic co-founder Aleksandra Korneva noted that many swap users have no reason to transact every day, whereas payments recur with routine, everyday spending. Pulsar Money CEO Alex Radu identified payments and trading as two possible foundations for super apps—applications that combine several financial services within a single interface. “They just want to transact in a safe and secure and cheap way,” she said.

Michelle Herman of CoinRoutes took a more cautious view of an application that does everything, arguing that specialized services still have a role to play. She also emphasized the importance of protecting customer information and delivering reliable execution.

Balancing Automation with User Control

The wallet panel explored how much of a transaction an application should handle on the user’s behalf. Yana, ChangeNOW’s Head of Business Development & Account Management, pointed to gas requirements—the fees networks charge to process transactions—as one source of friction in cross-chain swaps.

A MetaMask representative discussed using AI agents to carry out transactions, while Trezor software product lead Denis described exploring how a hardware device could let users approve agent-initiated actions. How such approval flows move from exploration into shipping products could shape how much automation everyday users actually encounter.

Denis also cautioned against hiding every detail in the pursuit of a simpler interface. Information should remain available when users need it, he said. Striking that balance between automation and transparency would allow users to benefit from AI while retaining control over important transaction decisions.

Privacy, Infrastructure and Community Growth

On the infrastructure panel, WalletConnect’s Diana Alexandrova argued that everyday payments should not demand technical expertise. “They don’t have to be cryptographers,” she said of users.

Making crypto payments easier also requires reducing the steps between choosing a payment method and completing a transaction. Wallet interfaces must manage technical processes in the background while keeping fees, confirmation status and transaction details accessible. That balance could help businesses and everyday users adopt blockchain-based payments without needing to understand the underlying infrastructure.

Aztec Labs highlighted privacy as another requirement for wider adoption, pointing out that businesses would not want employee payments publicly visible on public blockchains, where transaction histories can be viewed by anyone. Banxa advocated cooperation between specialized infrastructure providers, while RocketX described bringing liquidity from different sources into a unified interface.

A separate discussion on audience growth examined how users will find these products as AI reshapes search. Media participants described investing more in interviews, podcasts and direct relationships with readers as search traffic becomes harder to depend on.

CoinEasy offered a more local perspective, saying its Korean community and domestic search presence had limited the impact so far. The company also described efforts to reach people through AI tools and to expand offline events and physical products for its community. That approach shows how crypto projects can use local engagement to build trust rather than relying solely on global search visibility, and how combining AI discovery with community events may help companies maintain direct relationships with users as digital discovery channels continue to evolve.

Ultimately, crypto super apps will need more than multiple features to become part of everyday life. Convenient payments, strong privacy, reliable execution and user control will matter just as much as automation. The challenge is making crypto simple enough for everyday use without compromising security or trust.

Source: The Market Periodical