The banking landscape is being rewritten. Not by the old guard, but by digital-native challengers called neobanks, financial institutions that exist entirely online, free from the overhead and rigidity of legacy infrastructure.
As they scale globally, neobanks are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency integration as a way to deliver faster, cheaper, and more secure payment experiences. This shift is a structural rethink of how value moves, and who gets to participate.
In this article, we’ll break down what neobanks are, why they’re embracing crypto, and how infrastructure like the Lightning Network is powering this next phase of growth.
What is a neobank?
Neobanks are fully digital banks that offer financial services via mobile apps or web platforms, without any physical branches. They often target underserved or digital-first users and offer streamlined experiences around checking accounts, savings, payments, and increasingly, investing.
Popular examples include Revolut, Chime, N26, and SoFi, all of which operate without traditional banking infrastructure and instead partner with licensed banks or use Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) models.
What sets neobanks apart is their speed of iteration. Unlike traditional banks, which may take quarters (or years) to ship updates, neobanks release features in weeks. And crypto is the latest feature in the stack.
Why neobanks are integrating crypto
1. To meet growing user demand
Roughly 93 million Americans own crypto, and most say they would prefer to manage their digital assets through their existing bank. That’s a huge opening for neobanks. By integrating crypto wallets and trading, neobanks can tap into this demand directly, without forcing users to open accounts with third-party exchanges.
It’s not just speculative. Crypto is increasingly viewed as a payment rail, not just an investment class. Neobanks that offer crypto access position themselves as hubs for both wealth management and instant value transfer.
2. To differentiate in a crowded market
Neobanks are proliferating. The global digital banking market is projected to hit $79.4 billion by 2030. To stand out, offering crypto is no longer a “nice-to-have”; it’s a way to diversify offerings, increase engagement, and retain users.
By enabling users to buy, sell, hold, or even spend crypto, neobanks can differentiate themselves from both traditional banks and fintech competitors. Crypto adds a layer of functionality that’s hard to replicate without native integration.
3. To reduce payment friction
Crypto payments eliminate layers of intermediaries, making transactions cheaper, faster, and borderless. For neobanks with global ambitions, that’s game-changing.
Instead of relying on slow and expensive cross-border payment rails (e.g., SWIFT, SEPA), crypto lets users send stablecoins or bitcoin instantly, with final settlement in seconds and near-zero fees. Neobanks can also use this infrastructure for internal treasury ops, vendor payments, or payout services.
4. To unlock new revenue streams
Most neobanks operate on razor-thin margins, earning revenue from interchange fees, referrals, or small subscriptions. Crypto opens new doors: spread fees on crypto trading, staking rewards, custody-as-a-service, and yield-generating DeFi integrations.
Done right, this becomes a profit center, not just a feature.
5. To stay ahead of regulatory and market shifts
The rise of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) and programmable money is accelerating. Neobanks that adopt crypto early are better positioned to adapt to these shifts, both technically and operationally.
They’re also able to build in user protections and compliance standards from day one, rather than retrofitting after the fact.
Key considerations for crypto-enabled neobanks
While crypto unlocks value, it also introduces complexity. Neobanks need to carefully navigate the following areas:
Regulatory compliance
Whether operating in the U.S., Europe, or APAC, crypto regulations are tightening. Neobanks must implement KYC/AML, transaction monitoring, and custody protections to meet local compliance requirements. In Europe, MiCA rules will soon govern crypto services across the EU.
Partnering with compliant infrastructure providers is non-negotiable.
Managing volatility
Crypto’s volatility is real. One solution is to offer stablecoins (like USDC or EURC), which are pegged to fiat currencies and are less prone to price swings. These assets maintain the speed and cost-efficiency of crypto while offering a stable user experience.
Some neobanks also offer instant conversion between crypto and fiat to reduce exposure.
Customer education
Crypto is still unfamiliar to many users. Neobanks must invest in education, onboarding guides, in-app explainers, and clear risk disclosures. Users need to understand custody models, private keys, transaction irreversibility, and security best practices.
Trust is the foundation of financial services, and it starts with clarity.
How the Lightning Network fits in
Crypto-native payment infrastructure is evolving fast, but nothing is more relevant to neobanks than the Lightning Network. Lightspark is building enterprise-grade tooling for Lightning, designed for institutions like neobanks. With Lightspark, banks can:
- Send and receive real-time, low-fee payments using Bitcoin-native rails
- Abstract away complexity with the Universal Money Address (UMA) standard
- Route liquidity intelligently with Lightspark Connect
- Offer stablecoin rails via Spark, enabling fiat-like UX with crypto-grade performance
Learn more: Lightspark’s digital banking solutions
Use cases for crypto neobanks
Neobanks that adopt crypto unlock a wide range of new functionality:
1. Global remittances
Send $50 from NYC to Nigeria in seconds with a few taps—no wire fees, no delays, no FX spreads. Lightning and stablecoins make remittances real-time and low-cost, especially for underserved regions.
2. Treasury and B2B payments
Neobanks serving SMBs can offer instant payouts, smart treasury routing, and programmable disbursements. Crypto-native payments reduce capital lock-up and improve reconciliation.
3. Crypto-native debit cards
Integrating Lightning or stablecoin wallets enables spending from crypto balances with automatic conversion at the point of sale. This gives users real-world utility and keeps funds within the neobank ecosystem.
4. Yield generation and staking
Offer passive income via staking, lending, or DeFi integrations, increasing wallet stickiness and portfolio engagement.
5. Financial inclusion
Reach the unbanked with digital wallets tied to crypto payment rails. No physical infrastructure needed, just internet access.
Crypto integration is the next growth engine for neobanks
Neobanks have always been disruptors. Crypto is simply the next logical evolution.
By integrating crypto natively, neobanks can meet rising customer expectations, unlock new margins, and leapfrog legacy institutions weighed down by outdated rails.
But the how matters as much as the what. That’s where Lightspark comes in.
Ready to build a crypto neobank?
Lightspark provides everything you need to integrate crypto payments with confidence:
- Lightning-native payments with millisecond settlement
- Stablecoin support via Spark protocol
- Universal Money Address (UMA) abstraction
- Liquidity orchestration with Connect
- Developer-friendly APIs with enterprise-grade compliance
Whether you’re building a crypto-native challenger bank or upgrading your payments infrastructure, Lightspark helps you launch faster and scale globally. Explore Lightspark for digital banks
