Crypto wallet revenue, including interface providers, fell by roughly $700 million to about $400 million in the first half of 2026, according to 1kx figures cited by CryptoPotato on November 8. Rising gambling and gaming income cushioned the wider consumer crypto sector’s decline, which reached 11% year over year.
Wallet and Interface Revenue Falls to $400 Million
Wallet and interface businesses generated approximately $1.1 billion in the first half of 2025. Their income fell to roughly $400 million over the same six months of 2026, making wallets a major
The roughly $700 million shortfall concerns revenue earned by businesses. It is not a tally of stolen cryptocurrency, missing customer funds or reductions in users’ wallet balances.
The distinction matters for wallet users: the findings concern the commercial performance of the services they use, rather than a security incident affecting their holdings.
Lower Trading Activity Weighs on Wallet Fee Income
The account attributes the revenue decline mainly to lower trading activity and volatile cryptocurrency prices. Wallet businesses collect fees from swaps and transactions, alongside income from integrated DeFi services, leaving those revenue streams exposed when trading slows.
That puts fee-generating activity at the center of the business story. A growing number of wallet addresses does not automatically produce more income for wallet providers; users must engage with services that generate fees.
For these businesses, the pressure is therefore on usage as well as adoption. More addresses alone cannot offset a slowdown in the trading activity on which their fee income depends.
Gaming and Gambling Cushion the Consumer Sector’s Decline
Total consumer crypto revenue reached $5 billion in the first half of 2026, down about $600 million from a year earlier. Gambling and gaming moved in the opposite direction, rising a reported 8% to $3.3 billion from approximately $3.1 billion.
That category accounted for about two-thirds of the sector’s revenue, making it the largest reportedusinesses, but also left the sector heavily dependent on gambling and gaming
DePIN businesses also lost ground. Revenue from decentralized physical infrastructure networks fell 10%, from $293 million to $264 million.
The 1kx conclusion, quoted in the November 8 coverage, was that “resilience from gaming offsets wallet weakness,” while highlighting reliance on volatile categories. Continued gaming strength could cushion further wallet weakness; a reversal would remove that support.
Later Wallet Counts Show Mixed Network Participation
Later in the year, network participation moved in different directions. Santiment figures cited in the coverage showed Bitcoin losing around 30,000 non-empty wallets after mid-October, leaving the total just under 60 million.
Ethereum’s non-empty wallet count exceeded 207 million in September, around the time staked ETH▼$2,136.69 rose above 40 million. Those later developments offer context on network participation after the first-half revenue period, with Ethereum expanding while Bitcoin’s non-empty wallet count contracted.
Which months does the H1 2026 revenue report cover?
H1 covers January through June 2026. The year-over-year comparison uses the corresponding six months of 2025.
How do crypto wallet providers earn revenue?
Providers charge for services such as swaps and transactions and earn income through integrated DeFi services. The account links their roughly $700 million revenue decline mainly to weaker trading activity and volatile prices.
How much revenue did gambling and gaming generate in H1 2026?
The combined category generated approximately $3.3 billion, against $5 billion for the broader consumer crypto sector. The 1kx figures describe its year-over-year growth as 8%.
How did DePIN revenue change over the same period?
DePIN income declined from $293 million to $264 million in the first half of 2026. That represented a reported 10% decrease, adding to the weakness outside gambling and gaming.
When were the Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet-count observations recorded?
The Bitcoin observation tracks a decline after mid-October, while Ethereum’s figure dates to September. Santiment’s figures count non-empty wallets rather than unique people or wallet-provider customers.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
