From Banks to Wallets: Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan on Building A Borderless, Self-Owned Finance

Outset

Alvin Kan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bitget Wallet disclosed the evolution of self-custodial finance to BlockchainReporter in an exclusive interview. He clarified that what it truly takes to scale a crypto wallet to over 90 million users. Based on his rich background in Web2 at LinkedIn, Alvin made a bold transition into the Web3 space that has shaped his unique approach toward the decentralized finance (DeFi).

Alvin Kan highlights Bitget Wallet’s operational philosophy, its Onchain Payments Matrix, AI agent readiness. Also he enlightened us with the ambitious vision of turning wallets into borderless, global financial accounts. From stablecoin integration to handle mainstream adoption barriers, this conversation gives insight how Bitget Wallet is quietly reshaping the future of everyday finance.

Interview Session

How has your solid technical background and transition from Web2 to Web3 assisted in scaling Bitget Wallet to more than 90M Users?

My Web2 background helped me approach Web3 from a systems perspective. At LinkedIn, I was constantly thinking about data, user behavior, and how to scale infrastructure to support millions of users reliably. When I moved into Web3, I realized that many of the challenges weren’t purely technical – they were coordination problems across fragmented systems. 

AtBitget Wallet, scaling to over 90 million users wasn’t about adding more features, but about simplifying that complexity. We focused on reducing friction, whether that’s enabling gas payments with stablecoins, supporting hundreds of chains without users needing to think about it, or creating a unified experience across investing and payments. The key lesson from Web2 is that users don’t adopt technology – they adopt outcomes. So everything we built was designed around what users want to achieve, not how the underlying infrastructure works.

Since you started the journey as COO, what has been the greatest operational challenge for you while transforming Bitget Wallet into an inclusive network?

The biggest challenge has been bridging very different types of users within one product. On one end, you have highly sophisticated traders managing liquidity across chains. On the other, you have everyday users who just want to send money, earn yield, or pay for something.

Building for both without overwhelming either group requires a layered approach. We’ve had to design the product so that it’s simple by default but powerful when needed. That means abstracting complexity like gas fees or cross-chain routing, while still offering advanced tools like onchain analytics deeper in the product. Operationally, it’s less about adding more features and more about deciding what not to show upfront. That discipline has been critical in making the wallet more inclusive.

Amid the rising competition in wallet space, what do you think is the “North Star” parameter for Bitget Wallet’s success?

Our North Star is reducing friction in how people use crypto in their daily lives. If users can send, invest, and spend without thinking about chains, gas, or multiple apps, we’re doing our job well. That’s ultimately what determines whether a wallet product becomes part of someone’s daily routine.

We already see this behavioral shift. Payment usage, for example, is no longer occasional. We see increasing usage for small, frequent transactions rather than just large transfers or trading. In our own data, users engage in payment-related activity on roughly half the days in a month, with average transaction sizes closer to everyday spending rather than investment-sized trades.

Competition in wallets is no longer just about trading – it’s about who can support real-world behaviors consistently. We measure success by how often users come back and how many real-life use cases they can fulfill within a single interface.

While stablecoins are being widely used for everyday crypto payments, what is Bitget Wallet’s role and next steps to guarantee seamless stablecoin integration?

Stablecoins have already proven their value as a medium of exchange, especially in regions where access to USD is limited or payment systems are inefficient. What’s still missing is the connection layer between stablecoins and real-world payment infrastructure.

That’s where Bitget Wallet is focused. We’ve been building what we call the Onchain Payments Matrix – a coordination layer that connects stablecoins to cards, QR payments, bank transfers, and on/off ramps, allowing users to move seamlessly between onchain assets and everyday payment rails. For example, building on this infrastructure, we’ve already enabled QR-based payments across APAC and integrated global card programs that allow users to spend stablecoins directly.

The next step is to make this experience invisible. That means users don’t need to manage gas, switch networks, or even think about what currency they’re using. The wallet automatically handles routing, fee abstraction, and settlement in the background. So from a user’s perspective, it feels no different from using any digital payment app.

What is Bitget Wallet’s growth strategy to meet the diverse financial needs and user behaviors?

We think about growth in terms of use cases, not just regions or demographics. Globally, we consistently see four core behaviors:investing, saving, sending, and spending. The mix varies by region because financial needs are different. In Southeast Asia and Africa, payment and transfer volumes are significant due to higher remittance demand and limited access to stable banking infrastructure. In Europe and the Americas, we see stronger interest in investing and saving, partly driven by access to capital markets and inflation hedging.

Our strategy is to build a single platform that supports all of these behaviors, while allowing users to engage only with what’s relevant to them. That’s why we’ve structured the product into clear pillars, so someone can start with one use case, like sending or earning, and naturally expand into others over time. Growth then becomes less about acquiring more users, and more about increasing utility per user. 

With AI agents getting wider traction across the financial landscape, how is Bitget Wallet preparing for an era dominated by autonomous agents instead of humans?

We’re moving toward a model where wallets are not just interfaces for users, but execution layers for both users and agents. AI agents will increasingly handle tasks like portfolio rebalancing, payments, or trading strategies. For that to work, wallets need to support programmable permissions, real-time execution, and secure transaction signing.

We’ve already started building the infrastructure for this through Bitget Wallet Skill for AI agents as well as embedding the AI market insights within the Bitget Wallet app. The goal is to allow agents to operate efficiently, while keeping users in control of final authorization. It’s not about replacing users, but augmenting them with better tools.

At a time when AI-driven deepfakes and synthetic identity scams are more sophisticated, what is Bitget Wallet’s plan to boost its security infrastructure?

Security today is less about protecting keys alone and more about protecting user intent. We’ve built multiple layers of protection into the wallet, including real-time transaction risk detection, default MEV protection, and contract scanning to identify malicious interactions before users sign anything.

At the same time, we focus on reducing human error. Many scams succeed not because of technical vulnerabilities, but because users are misled. That’s why we integrate warnings, contextual prompts, and education directly into the transaction flow. As threats evolve with AI, security has to become more proactive and embedded.

While Web3 adoption grows, what is the biggest barrier hindering the inclusion of the next billion consumers, and how does Bitget Wallet approach it?

The biggest barrier is still complexity. Most users don’t understand gas fees, private keys, or how different blockchains work, and they shouldn’t have to. The current wallet / defi experience is still too fragmented and technical for mainstream adoption.

Our approach is to make those complexities invisible. Features like gas abstraction, social login, and one-click top-up using Apply Pay simplify onboarding and reduce the learning curve significantly. At the same time, we focus on real-world use cases like payments, remittances, and savings. When users see immediate value, they’re more willing to adopt the technology behind it.

Q9. After providing businesses with Enterprise API services, how is Bitget Wallet endeavoring to back institutional-scale reliability and retail accessibility?

We see infrastructure as something that should serve both ends of the spectrum. The goal is to make advanced infrastructure accessible without exposing users to its complexity. That’s how we bridge institutional performance with retail usability.

On the backend, our DEX aggregator and Enterprise API are built to deliver institutional-grade execution: deep liquidity, optimized routing, and high reliability across multiple chains. This is what allows partners and platforms to build on top of us.

On the frontend, we translate that complexity into simple user experiences: one-click swaps, gas-free transactions, and clear pricing.

Looking ahead to further advancement in 2026, what is Bitget Wallet’s “moonshot” innovation or revolutionary strategy that you’re most thrilled about?

The biggest shift we’re excited about is wallets becoming a global onchain account, a primary financial interface for users to manage assets across borders.

We’re already seeing early signs of this with tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, and integrated financial services within a single app. The next step is bringing all of these into one unified experience – what we think of as a global asset platform without borders.

At the same time, the rise of AI and programmable finance will fundamentally change how users interact with money. Instead of manually managing everything, users will set preferences and rules and let systems execute on their behalf. 

If we can combine accessibility, programmability, and real-world connectivity, wallets won’t just be part of crypto – they’ll become part of everyday finance.

Closing Remarks

Vision of Alvin Kan for Bitget Wallet goes far beyond building a crypto tool. It is all about constructing a borderless financial platform that serves everyone from seasoned DeFi traders to first-time crypto users. Bitget Wallet is purely focusing on reducing complexity, expanding real-world payment utility, and preparing for an AI-augmented financial era.

In short Bitget Wallet has appeared as a well-positioned to lead the next wave of Web3 adoption. As Alvin beleives, digital wallets won’t just be part of crypto, rather they’ll become part of everyday finance.