Crypto Apps: Where Consolidation Meets Cost Savings

The concept of an all-in-one crypto app has become increasingly popular, offering users a single account that combines spot trading, perpetual futures, equity exposure, yield, and fiat on-ramp capabilities. However, with most major apps now meeting this basic requirement, the focus has shifted to how each platform fills these five boxes.

The five key areas are: spot trading, which allows users to buy and hold assets; perpetual futures, providing leveraged long and short exposure; US equity exposure, giving access to stocks such as Apple or Tesla without leaving for a broker; in-app yield, where idle balances can earn interest instead of sitting flat between trades; and fiat on-ramp, enabling local currency transactions without relying on third-party platforms.

A recent comparison of seven major crypto apps against these five boxes reveals that most now offer comprehensive coverage. However, the real differences lie within each box, particularly in equity exposure. Three structurally different products are offered: real shares held through a regulated broker; tokenized exposure, where users hold tokens tracking share prices without conferring ownership; and equity perpetuals, providing leveraged directional exposure to stocks or indices.

When it comes to costs, entry-tier taker fees range from 0.0500% to 0.600%, while maker fees vary between platforms, with some offering 0% and others reaching 0.400%. Binance stands out for its extensive real-share access, listing over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs, whereas MEXC offers a more limited RealStocks catalogue.

For traders moving funds between platforms to rebalance their portfolios, using a single account can result in significant cost savings. For example, a trader running $50,000 per month in spot volume could save up to $648 annually by consolidating into one app instead of using three separate ones.