From Cold Storage to Action Wallet: The D’CENT × ChangeNOW Case

D’CENT is a South Korean hardware wallet brand that began with a focus on self-custody and secure storage. This foundation raised a key question: How can a hardware-first wallet let users do more on-chain without becoming an exchange? ChangeNOW helped the wallet add exchange features directly, so D’CENT did not have to build liquidity access, routing, or exchange operations themselves. This integration sped up growth, bringing in over 1 million cumulative users, more than 40,000 daily active users, and over $8.5 million in annual revenue in 2025.

D’CENT started in 2017 in a product category where mistakes are costly. The company released its first hardware wallet in 2018 during a Crypto Winter, when demand was low. This tough time encouraged discipline. D’CENT prioritized trust-building features like Secure Element chips, a custom operating system, secure firmware, reliable mass production, multi-chain support, and stable signing processes.

As self-custody became more important to users, a new question arose: After moving assets into a wallet, users still needed a place to take action. D’CENT considered adding features like swaps, rewards, and project discovery. Building exchange infrastructure would need resources for liquidity, routing, rate management, and compliance, moving the company away from its main business. Instead, D’CENT leveraged its audience—users who care about security and project quality—as a high-intent audience for Web3 projects.

Tap That Drop, D’CENT’s in-wallet seasonal quest campaign, showed how the product could link users with Web3 projects. By linking this campaign with ChangeNOW, D’CENT created a closed-loop experience: users could discover a project, earn rewards, and instantly swap tokens under one secure roof.

ChangeNOW solved the swap layer without the infrastructure burden. For D’CENT, this integration allowed it to capture international exchange demand at scale without building in-house. The results: by 2025, D’CENT had over 1 million users, more than 40,000 daily active users, and annual revenue exceeding $8.5 million. Hardware sales revenue nearly tripled compared to 2024. D’CENT became one of the top five hardware wallet brands globally and earned trust among XRP holders.

The lesson for wallet teams: When a wallet has earned user trust, the next question is where transactions should take place. Building exchange features in-house can distract from the wallet’s core promise. D’CENT proves a wallet can add utility without changing its core security focus. ChangeNOW allows wallet teams to add in-wallet swaps without building exchange infrastructure from scratch.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/from-cold-storage-to-action-wallet-the-dcent-x-changenow-case/