Blockrise CEO Jos Lazet has identified 'anarchistic neobanks'—services built on user self-custody—as Bitcoin's next frontier. This trend sees crypto firms like Blockrise partnering with licensed banks like bunq to offer insured, regulated services. The movement is fueled by maturing stablecoin infrastructure, with 2025 transaction volumes hitting $33T, and new regulations like the EU's MiCA, accelerating Bitcoin's integration into mainstream finance.
Blockrise bunq banking partnership
- ▪Blockrise holds a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)
- ▪In April 2026, Bitcoin-only platform Blockrise partnered with European neobank bunq to offer bank accounts embedded within its platform
- ▪The Blockrise-bunq service uses bunq's Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, allowing Blockrise to offer banking services without its own license
- ▪Fiat deposits within the Blockrise-bunq service are insured up to €100,000 by the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme via bunq's European banking license
Crypto neobank infrastructure models
- ▪Crypto neobanks are described as 'composable' financial services, where banking, payments, and custody are delivered by separate infrastructure providers
- ▪Lazet contrasts these with current neobanks, which he calls 'an optimized version of traditional banks' that are 'not against the system.'
- ▪A divergence in models is emerging, with some neobanks offering a traditional bank-like experience and others emphasizing self-custody and direct wallet transactions
- ▪Blockrise CEO Jos Lazet identifies 'anarchistic neobanks' as Bitcoin's next frontier, defining them as services built around user ownership and self-custody
Global crypto neobank expansion
- ▪Other examples include Gnosis Pay, which offers a Visa card linked to a user's self-custody wallet, and France's Deblock, which combines an IBAN with a non-custodial wallet
- ▪Crypto neobanks have reportedly raised billions of dollars in investments and acquired millions of users within the last year
- ▪Hong Kong-based RedotPay, founded in 2023, has over five million customers and an annual transaction volume of about $10 billion
Stablecoin payment infrastructure growth
- ▪Major acquisitions in the stablecoin payments space include Stripe's $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge in October 2024 and Mastercard's agreement to buy BVNK for up to $1.8 billion
- ▪Stablecoin transaction volume was estimated at $33 trillion in 2025, a 72% increase from the prior year and exceeding Visa's $16.7 trillion
Crypto banking regulatory frameworks
- ▪The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has been fully operational since December 2024, granting licensed firms passporting rights
- ▪The GENIUS Act, signed into US law in July 2025, created a federal framework for payment stablecoins
- ▪Traditional banks are also entering the space, with Société Générale launching a stablecoin and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issuing licenses to HSBC in April 2026
Bitcoin mainstream adoption pathways
- ▪Jos Lazet stated that Bitcoin adoption in the Netherlands is at a 'peak,' citing growing institutional acceptance
- ▪Platforms like Blockrise reduce the friction between fiat and crypto, which can attract more retail capital into bitcoin markets
- ▪A key question for the industry is whether these hybrid models will preserve Bitcoin's decentralization or reintroduce centralized control via banking intermediaries
Story comments
Loading comments…