New SFF 2025 findings from a Cleanverse survey reveal users want bank-grade safeguards and regulated infrastructure.
Cleanverse International has released new survey findings from the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025, highlighting that trust, identity assurance, and counterparty verification remain the defining barriers to mainstream Web3 adoption.
The survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,500 industry participants, retail users, and first-time adopters, shows a clear pattern: Web3’s next chapter will depend less on technical innovation and more on rebuilding governance, protection, and traceability at the protocol layer.
Ceridwen Choo, CEO of Cleanverse, commented: “Respondents consistently told us that they want consumer protections built into the infrastructure itself… Users are no longer asking whether Web3 works — they are asking whether it can be trusted.”
Trust Gap Persists
Three-quarters (75.4%) of respondents do not currently use a Web3 wallet, attributing this to limited understanding and concerns over trust and security. Nearly half of existing users want more platforms supporting verified on-chain transactions, underscoring persistent scepticism toward current decentralised environments.
Strong Demand for Embedded Compliance
When asked whether compliance and shareable KYC at the protocol layer would enhance their Web3 experience, 59.5% said yes and 35.4% said maybe. Respondents increasingly view compliance as an expected safety baseline, not a burden. The findings also reinforce demand for portable identity credentials to avoid repeated, fragmented KYC processes.
Regulated Infrastructure Increases Confidence
A combined 87% of respondents said they would feel confident or open to using Web3 services running on compliance-certified platforms. As tokenisation and stablecoins become extensions of regulated finance, users expect Web3 services to meet similar standards of transparency and accountability.
Banks Emerging as the Main Consumer Gateway
The survey also indicates a major shift in preferred access points. More than 40% of respondents would use Web3 services if provided by their bank, while 46.6% said they might. With only 4.5% opposed, banks are positioned to become the primary bridge to Web3 for mainstream consumers.
Industry leaders emphasised the importance of identity and trust layers. Chia Hock Lai, Co-chair of the Digital Assets Association, said: “Institutions cannot scale on anonymity… Identity assurance is the essential infrastructure required to bridge Web3 with the real global economy.”
Professor Zhu Feida of Singapore Management University added: “The era of anonymous-by-default Web3 is over… Trust-by-design is becoming the prerequisite for Web3’s mainstream breakout.”
As regulators and industry leaders refine the next phase of digital asset governance, the direction is clear: Web3’s future will be shaped by trust, identity, and compliance-native architecture.
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