Fun CEO Alex Fine believes traditional crypto payment infrastructure, including standalone on-ramps and blockchain bridges, will eventually fade away as applications adopt integrated payment systems that make blockchain operations invisible to users.
Fine said the next generation of crypto platforms will no longer require users to navigate separate steps for deposits, bridging, and conversions. Instead, payment functionality will be built directly into applications, creating a smoother experience similar to Web2 services, where users rarely interact with the technology behind transactions.
“The era of dedicated on-ramps will be over, and external bridge platforms will also disappear,” Fine told CoinDesk. “Users do not want to use bridges or conversion tools—they want to use applications.”
Fun operates as payment infrastructure rather than a consumer exchange or wallet. The company provides APIs that allow fintech firms and crypto applications to integrate deposits, withdrawals, settlements, and checkout features directly into their platforms. Its technology connects traditional financial systems with blockchain networks while simplifying transfers between fiat currencies, stablecoins, and different chains.
The Hidden Infrastructure Powering Crypto Apps
Fine’s comments come as platforms such as prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, along with tokenized equity services, continue to gain traction among users and traders.
Although these applications are becoming increasingly popular, the infrastructure supporting funding, withdrawals, and settlement typically operates behind the scenes.
Fun is one of the companies building this underlying payment layer. The company says it manages all deposit and withdrawal activity for Polymarket, supports funding flows into Aave’s largest vaults, and processes more than $3 billion in monthly transaction volume.
The firm has raised over $75 million so far.
From Separate Payment Tools to Seamless Funding
Fine said the current crypto payment ecosystem remains too fragmented, forcing developers to combine multiple banking providers, card processors, digital assets, blockchain networks, and bridge solutions to create a working payment experience.
He argued that the industry should move away from individual payment methods and focus instead on creating unified funding systems that allow users to access applications as quickly and easily as possible.
“In Web2, payment methods are largely interchangeable,” Fine said. “In Web3, every payment method works differently, which creates unnecessary complexity. Teams repeatedly rebuild the same infrastructure instead of developing optimized, unified funding flows.”
According to Fine, many existing crypto payment providers may eventually become less relevant because they focus on technical processes users do not directly care about. Companies centered around fiat-to-crypto conversions or cross-chain transfers are solving backend problems rather than user-facing needs.
“Users do not care about converting fiat into crypto,” Fine said. “They care about completing an action inside an application. The conversion is just a necessary step.”
He said the growing adoption of embedded payment systems shows that standalone on-ramp services and bridge interfaces are losing importance. Instead of sending users to separate platforms, applications are increasingly integrating payments directly, allowing customers to use stored payment information and complete transactions with fewer steps.
Fine also highlighted the importance of smarter fraud detection and risk controls. He said payment systems should adapt security measures based on user behavior and transaction history rather than applying identical checks to everyone. Long-term users with established activity, for example, could receive faster transactions while platforms maintain appropriate risk protections.
Prediction Markets and Tokenized Equities Remain Early-Stage
Looking beyond payment infrastructure, Fine identified prediction markets and tokenized equities as two major areas of future growth in crypto.
He said both sectors are still developing and have significant room for expansion. Prediction markets, in particular, could grow substantially as deeper liquidity creates opportunities for more specialized event contracts and broader hedging applications.
Fine suggested that as liquidity increases, these platforms could support millions of different event-based markets, making them significantly more valuable and useful over time.
