Exclusive interview: Why Tangem believes self-hosting is entering the era of \"proactive\"

Digital wallets are undergoing rapid evolution as cryptocurrencies expand from transactions to payments, stablecoins, tokenized assets and artificial intelligence-driven applications.

A new generation of users will no longer just store cryptocurrency, but will integrate it into active use in daily life. We had an in-depth conversation with Andrei Razutkin, co-founder, chief technology officer and product director in the field, to discuss why self-custody is entering a new stage, what are the obstacles to mainstream adoption, and why wallets are becoming the operating system of on-chain finance.

\"In five years, people will no longer view self-preservation as a technical feature. They will naturally think that this is the way to own and manage their own currency. \"

Self-preservation is moving from concept to infrastructure. For many years, self-preservation has been mainly regarded as the cornerstone of the concept in the cryptocurrency field. But Andrei Razutkin believes that this discussion has undergone a fundamental shift. \"The industry is growing far faster than users \'custody habits,\" he said. Today, the cryptocurrency field has regulated stablecoins, tokenized treasury bonds, and institutional participation is increasing. However, nearly 88% of users still deposit assets on centralized exchanges. \"A few years ago, people were arguing about self-preservation from a philosophical perspective. Today, it is becoming critical infrastructure. \"

Modern wallets go far beyond simple storage functions. Users can now pledge, redeem, earn revenue, and interact with decentralized protocols while retaining ownership of their private keys-functions that were once exclusive to centralized exchanges. For Razutkin, this marks a fundamental shift in the way users interact with cryptocurrencies.

How \"active self-preservation\" changes everything

New research introduces the behavioral trend of so-called \"active self-preservation\" that challenges a deep-rooted assumption in the cryptocurrency space. Today\'s users no longer use hardware wallets purely for long-term storage, but increasingly use them as the main entry point into the on-chain economy. \"Compared to other groups, cold wallet users are 1.83 times more likely to actively trade rather than just hold assets. \"This discovery subverts the traditional perception that hardware wallets are no longer products that users have shelved for years after purchasing them in the bull market. Instead, we see today\'s self-custodial users actively managing stablecoins, participating in decentralized finance, trading across multiple blockchains, and integrating cryptocurrencies into their daily financial activities.

\"This is an inevitable evolution,\" Razutkin explained, pointing to continued exchange closures, hacking attacks and increasingly stringent regulatory restrictions that constantly remind users why it is important to control private keys.

The biggest obstacle is no longer technology

Despite growing awareness of digital ownership, mainstream adoption of hardware wallets remains relatively low. Razutkin believes that the reason is not complexity, but familiarity. Research found that while almost all cryptocurrency users are aware of centralized exchanges, only about two-thirds are familiar with hardware wallets. Nearly half still believe they are designed for experienced users. \"The gap is not insurmountable,\" he said. \"As products become more affordable and education levels continue to improve, we believe more users will be willing to control their assets. \"

The team has focused on removing obstacles in the getting started. By eliminating mnemonic management and simplifying settings to a card experience that can be activated with a tap (the entire process takes just a few minutes), the company hopes that hardware wallets will no longer be like professional security devices and more like everyday consumer technology products.

Wallet is becoming a financial super application

If the first generation of cryptocurrency wallets were designed for storage, Razutkin believes that the next generation of wallets will become a complete financial operating system. \"Wallets are evolving from a place to store assets into a universal financial interface. \"Payment capabilities are increasingly similar to global banking applications driven by stablecoins. Tokenized assets incorporate traditional investments into the same investment portfolio. Forecasting markets, decentralized finance, and artificial intelligence-driven portfolio management are all integrated in the wallet experience. Instead of opening multiple financial applications, users manage payments, savings, investments, identities and on-chain activities through a single self-custody platform.

Looking to the future, Razutkin expects wallets to carry users \'digital identities, automate portfolio management, execute transactions through artificial intelligence agents, and use zero-knowledge certificates to verify credentials.

Confidence will determine the next 100 million users

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the industry is no longer technological innovation, but user confidence. Many new users are still worried about losing their private keys or making irreversible mistakes. \"The next wave of adoption will not come from adding more features,\" Razutkin said. \"It will come from making the experience more intuitive. \"To attract the next 100 million users, the industry must prioritize simplification, education and risk reduction, while building confidence through a better user experience and verified security. This concept has also shaped related educational programs, which aim to introduce self-preservation through practical learning by providing students with workshops and hardware wallets.

For Razutkin, the future is not about persuading people to adopt self-preservation, but about making the experience so natural that users no longer think about it. \"There are two forces driving this trend,\" he explained. \"The first is efficiency. Open financial networks are becoming faster, cheaper and more accessible than traditional systems. \"\" The second is ownership. Self-custody gives people something that the traditional financial system simply cannot provide-control over their own funds, identities, and financial lives. \"As these trends merge, he believes wallets will go far beyond just a place to hold cryptocurrency.