PANews reported on January 9th that Gate Research recently released a report titled "Evolution of Crypto Wallets and On-Chain Decentralization of CEXs," outlining the entire process of wallets evolving from private key and signature tools in the Bitcoin era to core on-chain financial gateways. The report points out that the DeFi Summer transformed wallets from low-frequency asset management tools into essential gateways for dApps; after 2022, all-in-one wallets became the mainstream approach, validating their capabilities in high-frequency scenarios involving inscriptions and memes, and gradually gaining stronger control over transaction paths and traffic distribution.

The report further points out that as the wealth effect of VCcoins diminishes and new on-chain assets and high-yield opportunities spill over, the long-term model of CEX users remaining within the exchange is being challenged, forcing CEXs to accelerate their on-chain strategy and move towards embedded wallets, extending compliance, fiat currency channels, and existing user scale to the on-chain ecosystem.

The report, using Gate Web3 as an example, points out that the on-chain transformation of CEXs is not a simple replication of the non-custodial wallet model. Rather, it involves deeply integrating the CEX's account system, trading capabilities, and on-chain applications while preserving user asset sovereignty, thereby enhancing asset retention and user lifetime value. Gate Research believes that the industry is entering a phase of functional restructuring: on-chain and modular financial capabilities are continuously migrating to wallets, while CEXs are addressing the erosion of their boundaries through on-chain transformation and ecosystem integration.