Coin98
Vietnam-founded multi-chain crypto wallet and DeFi app for self-custody trading.
On the record
Checkpoint: Fusion Card scaling proof or new funding round closing the capital gap
The call
Coin98 keeps building wallet features in a market where Trust Wallet and MetaMask already have the users and capital to copy them.
Coin98 lets people store and trade cryptocurrency across multiple blockchains without trusting a central company. Competing against it is extremely easy: Trust Wallet (owned by Binance, with 220 million users) and MetaMask (with 30 million monthly users) can copy any feature Coin98 builds, and both have way more money and users to draw from. The one thing that might matter is whether Coin98's new Fusion Card service (launched in late 2025) becomes a real money-maker tied to real bank accounts, because if it does, that could be hard for competitors to replicate quickly; but if it stays just a marketing tool while the basic wallet features become identical across all three apps, Coin98 will keep shrinking.
Why
01
AI pressure: AI-equipped wallet copilots (e.g., MetaMask's AI features, emerging agent wallets). AI-driven risk scanning and swap routing let rivals copy Coin98's core wallet features fast, eroding its differentiation. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Trust Wallet (Binance-owned). Trust Wallet's ~220M users and Binance distribution already dwarf Coin98's footprint across Vietnam and APAC. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Early brand recognition and a loyal Vietnamese community give Coin98 some local trust, but nothing stops bigger wallets from copying its features.
What would change this call
Whether C98 token market cap recovers from ~$12-13M or falls further within a year. Shows if treasury runway keeps deteriorating or stabilizes.
Whether Fusion Card reports audited transaction volume or revenue after its Nov 2025 launch. Shows if the card becomes a real revenue line or stays a marketing push.
Whether Coin98 closes a $50M+ funding round from a non-crypto-native VC. Shows outside investor conviction versus better-funded rivals like Phantom.
Whether Fusion Card reports audited transaction volume or revenue after its Nov 2025 launch. Shows if the card becomes a real revenue line or stays a marketing push.
Whether Coin98 closes a $50M+ funding round from a non-crypto-native VC. Shows outside investor conviction versus better-funded rivals like Phantom.
Key numbers
- C98 token down 99.8% from $6.42 (2021) to ~$0.012
- C98 market cap ~$12-13M
- Total disclosed funding ~$11-16.5M vs Phantom's $109M+
Named risks
- C98 token down 99.8% from ATH, threatening treasury runway if reserves are token-denominated.
- Core wallet UX features easily replicated by AI-equipped, better-funded rivals.
- Headcount flat at roughly 217-224 since 2022 despite growth-stage classification.
- Conflicting HQ/domicile records (Vietnam vs BVI) suggest unresolved corporate structuring.
- Fusion Card revenue line depends on single issuing partner, DCS Card Centre/DeCard.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Wallet (Binance-owned) | losing to | Binance-owned wallet vastly outscales Coin98's 10M+ claimed users as of 2026-05-29 |
| MetaMask (Consensys) | losing to | MetaMask reported ~30M+ MAU as of Jan 2024, dwarfing Coin98's user base |
| Phantom | losing to | Phantom raised $109M+ versus Coin98's $11.25M-$16.5M cumulative funding through 2023 |
| Binance and Coinbase (exchange-linked wallets) | contesting | Both operate far larger balance sheets and regulatory footprints in the same wallet space as of 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Coin98 profitable in 2026?
- No audited financials are public since Coin98 is privately held. Aggregator revenue estimates of $10-32M annually are unconfirmed algorithmic guesses. The company reports 10M+ users as of 2026-05-29, but actual profit or loss remains undisclosed and unaudited.
- Could AI replace Coin98's wallet features?
- Largely yes for the UX layer. Coin98's own Wallet Health risk-scanning dashboard, launched 2026 and covered 2026-07-25, uses exactly the kind of AI-replicable swap-routing and security-scanning functions that larger rivals like MetaMask or Phantom could copy or exceed.
- Who is Coin98's biggest competitor?
- Binance-owned Trust Wallet and Consensys's MetaMask, which reported roughly 30M+ monthly active users as of January 2024, dominate the multi-chain wallet category Coin98 competes in. Coin98 claims 10M+ users as of 2026-05-29, far smaller in scale and funding.
- Who owns Coin98?
- Coin98 is privately held under the holding entity Ninety Eight, also known as Coin98 Labs or Coin98 Wallet Ltd, founded in 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Backers include Alameda Research ($4M in April 2021), YZi Labs, and DWF Labs (August 2023).
- What happened to the C98 token?
- The C98 token collapsed 99.8% from its August 2021 all-time high of $6.42 to about $0.012 by July 2026, with market cap falling to roughly $12-13M as of 2026-07-26 per CoinGecko, raising treasury runway concerns.
- What is the Coin98 Fusion Card?
- Fusion Card is a Visa-branded crypto debit card Coin98 launched in November 2025 with issuing partner DCS Card Centre and DeCard, usable at 150M+ Visa merchants across nine Asia-Pacific markets including Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan.
Timeline
- 2026-07-26C98 token near all-time low, ~$0.012, market cap ~$12-13M, down 99.8% from 2021 ATH
- 2026-07-25Wallet Health AI risk-scanning feature covered by third-party outlet
- 2026-03-04Fusion Card promotional coverage published detailing Nov 2025 launch terms
- 2025-11Coin98 Fusion Card, Visa-branded debit card, launched via DCS Card Centre/DeCard
- 2025-06-12App Store listing rebranded to Coin98: Crypto AI Wallet
- 2023-11-07Ninety Eight launched self-funded $25M ecosystem fund for Web3 startups
- 2023-08-01DWF Labs made a strategic investment in Coin98
- 2022-01Funding round closed with Binance-linked YZi Labs as participant
- 2021-04-19Alameda Research invested $4M in Coin98
- 2020-01Coin98 wallet product launched
Revision history
26 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2026-07-20)
- EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki (2026-05-29)
- Coin98 Price: C98/USD Live Price Chart (2026-07-26)
- Alameda Research invests in Vietnamese blockchain technology startup (2021-04-19)
- Coin98 Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements (2023-05-24)
- All information about Coin98 Labs ICO (Token Sale)
- Coin98 Creator Ninety-Eight Launches $25M Ecosystem Fund (2023-11-07)
- Ninety Eight Teams
- Revenue, Competitors, Alternatives
- Keep Building With Conviction (2026-01-21)
- Introducing Coin98 Fusion Card (2026-03-04)
- Why Coin98's Wallet Health Checker Might Be The Feature Every Crypto Holder Is Missing (2026-07-25)