Key Points :
- Walmart-backed fintech OnePay plans to add Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading and custody features within its app by end of 2025, using infrastructure from Zerohash
- The move positions OnePay alongside services like Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal in offering embedded crypto access
- Zerohash has raised $104 million and is partnering with major financial firms; it will provide backend infrastructure to OnePay and also to Morgan Stanley’s forthcoming crypto offering
- Morgan Stanley is set to launch crypto trading on its E*Trade platform in H1 2026 (BTC, ETH, SOL) via Zerohash as infrastructure provider
- The trend signals deeper convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and blockchain infrastructure, lowering barriers for retail users to hold and use crypto in everyday transactions
1. Strategic Shift: Walmart to Become a Crypto-Enabled Super App
OnePay was launched in 2021 by Walmart and Ribbit Capital with the ambition of building an “everything app” — a unified platform combining savings accounts, debit/credit, peer-to-peer transfers, “buy now, pay later,” and even mobile phone plans.
By integrating crypto trading and custodial capability, OnePay is attempting to embed digital assets into everyday consumer finance. Users would not only hold BTC and ETH in-app, but also convert them to fiat and use them to pay bills, repay credit cards, or shop at Walmart stores seamlessly.
This move strengthens user “stickiness,” as customers would have increasing incentive to remain within a single integrated ecosystem rather than jump between exchange wallets and retail apps. For Walmart, it opens a high-margin financial services frontier beyond its core retail business.
Moreover, by offering crypto to underserved or underbanked segments (a part of Walmart’s customer base), OnePay is also extending financial inclusion while bringing those users into digital-asset exposure.
2. The Role of Zerohash: Infrastructure Backbone for Crypto-as-a-Service
OnePay is not building its crypto stack from scratch. Instead, it is partnering with Zerohash, a Chicago-based infrastructure provider that enables firms to embed trading, custody, tokenization, and stablecoin services.
Zerohash recently closed a $104 million funding round, elevating its valuation and signaling growing institutional demand for scalable crypto infrastructure. The firm already powers crypto offerings for fintechs, brokerages, and asset managers.
By serving as the backend engine, Zerohash abstracts away complexities like custody, compliance, settlement, and liquidity, allowing OnePay to focus on user experience, product integration, and distribution. This “crypto-as-a-service” model enables legacy financial institutions to enter the space rapidly without deep blockchain expertise.
This same model is now being adopted by Morgan Stanley. In September 2025, the bank publicly confirmed it will integrate crypto trading for retail clients via E*Trade in H1 2026, relying on Zerohash for infrastructure support.
3. Morgan Stanley & TradFi’s Deepening Crypto Commitment
Morgan Stanley’s adoption of Zerohash to power crypto trading via ETrade is among the most visible signals of the convergence of institutional finance and blockchain. Starting in the first half of 2026, ETrade clients will be able to trade Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana directly on the platform.
This move echoes the larger trend: banks are shifting from pilot projects and tokenized-fund exposure to native crypto offerings, enabled by middleware infrastructure partnerships.
Morgan Stanley has indicated this is only “phase one” and has plans to evolve into full wallet solutions, asset allocation strategies incorporating crypto, and possibly tokenization of other asset classes.
In parallel, the regulatory environment in the U.S. is gradually softening: under the current administration, policies have become more favorable toward crypto adoption by mainstream financial institutions, making such moves less risky from a compliance standpoint.
4. What This Means for Crypto, Retail, and New Opportunities
4.1 Lowering Friction for Crypto Adoption
By embedding crypto directly into familiar retail and financial apps (OnePay), the friction barrier for first-time users is significantly lowered. Users no longer need separate wallets or exchanges—they can gradually ease into crypto via a trusted app they already use.
This could lead to a broader mainstream adoption wave, particularly among users who are hesitant about crypto technology. Retail giants entering the space may act as “on-ramps” that normalize owning and using crypto in everyday transactions.
4.2 New Competitive Landscape in Fintech
Traditional fintech platforms (Venmo, Cash App, PayPal) already offer crypto trading. But a retail-backed app like OnePay, integrated with Walmart’s in-store ecosystem and distribution power, could pose a formidable competitive challenge.
In parallel, incumbent banks that adopt infrastructure partnerships like Morgan Stanley may lock in customer segments who prefer consolidated asset views—both crypto and traditional—in a single interface.
4.3 Infrastructure Providers as Strategic Players
Zerohash’s rising prominence underscores a structural shift: the real value in crypto may lie less in retail token issuance and more in backend infrastructure—APIs, compliance layers, custody, liquidity integration.
Firms that build reliable, secure “plumbing” layers enabling fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat flows may become key gatekeepers in the next financial architecture.
4.4 Opportunities for Niche Crypto Projects
As these verticals open, niche blockchain projects (layer-2s, payment protocols, on-chain finance modules) may plug in as add-ons to apps like OnePay. For example:
- Tokenized loyalty or reward tokens tied to retail spending
- Layer-2 rollups to reduce gas cost for retail microtransactions
- Cross-chain bridges enabling users to move assets between chains within apps
- Compliance and identity protocols (KYC/AML) embedded into consumer workflows
These integrations could unlock revenue models for smaller teams targeting “embedded crypto” features within large platforms.
5. Risks and Challenges
- Regulation and Legal Uncertainty: The crypto regulatory environment in the U.S. remains in flux. Any reversal in policy could impose capital and compliance burdens on platforms offering trading.
- Custody & Security: Secure custody, preventing hacks, managing wallet recoveries, and ensuring regulatory compliance are significant technical and operational challenges—outsourcing to providers like Zerohash mitigates but does not eliminate risk.
- Volatility & Consumer Exposure: Retail users may be exposed to the high volatility of crypto; consumer protection frameworks could become a sticking point.
- User Education & Trust: Many users are unfamiliar with crypto. Poor UX or confusing flows could lead to mistrust or abandonment.
- Competitive Pressures: Other big tech or retail firms may accelerate their own crypto integrations, leading to a competitive arms race.
Conclusion & Outlook
Walmart’s OnePay edging into crypto is more than just a fintech pivot—it’s a harbinger of the next phase of crypto adoption: embedded, consumer-friendly, and backed by retail scale. By choosing to partner with Zerohash rather than building in-house, OnePay underscores the rising role of crypto infrastructure as the scaffolding of future finance.
Simultaneously, Morgan Stanley’s decision to embed crypto via its E*Trade arm signals that legacy finance is no longer dipping toes but diving in. The convergence of retail, banking, and blockchain may accelerate new models of spending, asset holding, and tokenized experiences.
For readers seeking the next innovations or revenue streams in crypto, the frontier now lies less in issuing new tokens and more in building the connective layers, UX, and financial integrations that stitch digital assets into every app people use every day.
