The discourse around non-custodial, high-risk “degeneration” is undergoing a major shift. The crypto landscape is being reshaped by spot ETFs, the growing dominance of stablecoins, the tokenization of real-world assets, and even government holdings of Bitcoin through seizures and reserves. Wallet services now face the challenge of balancing DeFi-first principles with the need to integrate traditional financial rails.
BeInCrypto spoke with Marcel Harmann, founding CEO of THORWallet, at Token2049 in Singapore to discuss the future of non-custodial crypto wallet services. Harmann, a leader in non-custodial wallets and a pioneer in native cross-chain trading, wanted to see what the industry thought of current and future companies.
THORWallet has been in the space since the early days. What was your initial vision, and in a crowded wallet market, what are the key verticals in which THORWallet has positioned itself as a pioneer?
From day one, our vision was to offer people financial services based on blockchain and DeFi technology – open, fair and transparent. When I talk about financial services, it’s not about custodial services: not just holding and receiving, but also trading, exchanging, perpetuals and savings account earning capabilities. Every financial service a human needs can now be provided with DeFi, and we want to make that accessible.
We are very aware that there are many portfolios and we have tried to define some verticals in which we can pioneer. We were the first wallet to enable native cross-chain trading from Bitcoin to Ethereum, ever in space. We integrated a native Swiss bank into THORWallet – we were the first to do it. We are also a multi-signature, hyper-secure solution. We always identify verticals where we want to be better than the competition.
You mentioned being the first wallet to enable native cross-chain swaps between Bitcoin and Ethereum. Can you explain what “native” means in this context and where you see this technology going?
Unwrapped tokens, native tokens, are the solution. So, cross-chain swaps fit our vision of being able to swap any token from any ecosystem for any token from another ecosystem – basically what a centralized exchange does, only entirely on DeFi rails. We’ve already covered this topic with around 20,000 tokens, but there are many more. It might take us two years, maybe three maximum, until you can trade any token for any token entirely based solely on DeFi.
As you said, THORWallet took an interesting approach by integrating a Swiss bank directly into the wallet. Can you tell us how the Swiss bank integration actually works for users?
We have partnered with a Swiss FinTech. It’s optional, but it’s obviously KYCd, because it’s a fiat currency. Everything else is completely non-custodial, no middlemen, just DeFi technology. Once you’ve done the KYC there, you have a very easy way to get in and out of crypto and spend anywhere a Mastercard is accepted. We support multiple currencies: it’s actually a Swiss bank account with Swiss francs, dollars, euros and Chinese yuan.
How do you see the relationship between traditional banking and crypto evolving? Will banks adopt crypto, or will crypto evolve into a banking-like system?
Banks are definitely adopting crypto. In Switzerland, all major banks except UBS already offer crypto services. At first they hated it, then fought it, and now they see the revenue. They must participate, otherwise the train will leave. We are building DeFi in parallel. Centralized banks use centralized custody, but they will also start offering financial services based on DeFi rails. You will see it working together, and since DeFi is the superior technology, it will eventually outperform, just like the automobile industry, where gasoline engines will probably disappear eventually.
In addition to being a standard hot wallet, you have built multi-signature capabilities on any blockchain. Can you explain this hybrid security approach and why it is important for users and treasuries?
We are a dynamic seed portfolio, so you have your seed phrase. But we also want to have a hyper-secure version with a multi-signature wallet so you can co-sign with multiple devices – two or three devices. It could be a laptop, a second phone, a friend, your DAO partner, or your global treasury partner, and they can co-sign any token on any chain. The technology is fundamentally chain-agnostic and based on TSS. It is therefore super secure: you no longer need a hardware device. Our treasury fund, for example, is managed with this technology.
Gas fees, user experience and network congestion remain major barriers to widespread adoption. What solutions are emerging and how is THORWallet solving these problems?
Our goal is to provide a FinTech-like experience where the user does not know or feel that blockchain technology is involved. Features are popping up everywhere, like universal gas tanks where you top up an account, which is used to pay gas fees across blockchains. Every wallet will adopt it at some point – there will likely be subscription services or wallets that pay the costs themselves, gas fees for users, just as a service. We need to push blockchain technology into the backend.
Self-custody is fundamental to DeFi, but it is increasingly facing regulatory scrutiny. How do you see this landscape evolving and which jurisdictions are achieving this?
Self-custody is the cornerstone of the DeFi blockchain. It is contested by regulators, probably pushed by traditional competition who don’t like it. However, if built correctly and fully decentralized, blockchain technology, DeFi technology, and peer-to-peer self-custody without an intermediary cannot be stopped. It is essential to compare it to past technologies. In the early days of the Internet, it was very tedious to connect your modem, which made funny sounds, and then it was slow. If anyone in the house answered the phone, the connection was cut. But nowadays, 5G is available everywhere. It’s very similar to DeFi: we’re still ahead, but we’re growing faster than the internet at the time, when it comes to user metrics.
The wise solution for the regulator is to work with it rather than against it. I would say that many countries see this – for example, Switzerland, I think, is very progressive. Those who are now positioning themselves as a global hub, for example Hong Kong, are trying hard, Dubai is trying hard, and the United States is trying hard.
Many wallets are now launching or relaunching token models: MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Rabby. You have tested THORWallet’s token economy with real users. What have you learned about creating real utility while generating monetary value for users?
We have been testing the token economy for four years with real users. The key is to remain a utility token while generating monetary value. How do you handle this legally and technically? I’m very interested to see what real use they provide.
From native cross-chain exchanges to Swiss banking integrations, THORWallet’s approach reflects a growing trend in the industry: redefining how users interact with decentralized and traditional finance.
At Token2049, one thing was clear: the next wave of wallets won’t just store cryptocurrencies, they will fill entire financial worlds.
