Trustee Founder Vadym Hrusha: The future of crypto payments belongs to AI agents

​Cryptocurrencies are gradually moving beyond the investment market and becoming part of everyday finance. However, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure challenges and security concerns continue to slow their adoption. In an interview with Traders Union, Trustee Founder Vadym Hrusha discusses the development of crypto payments, competition with banks and the role of AI agents in the future of finance.

Why traditional banking needs to change

Before founding Trustee, Vadym Hrusha spent nearly a decade working in IT, including on projects for Bank of America and HSBC. This experience gave him an appreciation for the banking system's reliability, security and operational discipline. At the same time, he believes the traditional financial system is often built around institutions and intermediaries rather than people's needs.

"I think what is outdated is the very approach where you can send a message to another country in a second, but transferring money can still require several intermediaries, time and opaque fees. Bitcoin demonstrated a different architecture: value can be transferred through an open network without a central authority."

This does not mean banks should disappear or that technology eliminates the need for security and regulation, Hrusha clarifies. Trustee's guiding principle is to enable people to benefit from blockchain technology without having to understand its technical complexities.

Looking ahead, he believes users will care less about choosing between banks and cryptocurrencies and more about finding convenient financial services.

Changing customer priorities

At the end of 2025, Trustee Plus surpassed one million users. However, Hrusha believes the product's changing role is even more important than its growing user base. While people previously entered the cryptocurrency market primarily to invest and trade, they are now increasingly looking for ways to receive transfers, exchange assets, preserve savings or make payments wherever these options are available.

Trustee team members. Source: Trustee.

This demand is particularly evident among people who live and work across different countries.

"In terms of functionality, the greatest practical value comes from combining convenient transfers, digital asset exchange and tools for everyday payments. What matters is not the list of features itself, but the ability to complete the entire process without unnecessary steps."

According to Hrusha, a crypto wallet should be as simple and intuitive as any modern financial application. The use of blockchain technology no longer justifies a complicated user experience.

How can wallets compete with major exchanges?

Major platforms have substantial capital, global audiences and sophisticated trading infrastructure. However, independent wallets do not necessarily need to compete with them on scale.

"Independent products can win through other advantages: simplicity, specialization, flexibility and transparent terms for users."

Hrusha identifies self-custody as one such advantage, allowing users to retain primary control over their assets. However, he cautions that not every wallet operates under this model, and exchange services, card payments and other regulated activities come with their own requirements. Control over private keys does not eliminate the rules governing related services.

Ultimately, the Trustee CEO believes users will choose not necessarily the largest company, but a product they trust and one where they understand how responsibilities are divided.

What is holding back crypto card adoption?

Even Coinbase, Bybit and OKX do not offer crypto cards in every country. Hrusha explains that the problem lies in the complex processes taking place behind the scenes.

"From the user's perspective, a crypto card seems simple: you have a balance in digital assets and a card for payments. In reality, several parties are involved in every transaction. These include the issuer, payment network, banking infrastructure, exchange providers and other partners."

In many models, merchants receive conventional payments in fiat currency, while crypto assets serve as the funding source or are converted at some stage. Therefore, paying with a crypto card does not mean the merchant directly accepts cryptocurrency.

Hrusha identifies three barriers:

• Differences in regulation and operational requirements across countries;
• Infrastructure costs;
• The need for transparent fees and limits.

MiCA: Unified rules and the cost of compliance

The MiCA transitional period for crypto asset service providers in the EU ended on July 1, 2026, although it concluded earlier in some countries. Hrusha evaluates regulation according to two criteria: user protection and the ability to maintain competition and innovation.

"Harmonizing the rules is an advantage, but it comes at a cost. Licensing and maintaining compliance processes require significant resources. For smaller technology teams, this can become a substantial barrier that strengthens the position of the largest market participants."

For companies, authorization, risk management and legal structures now play a decisive role in determining which services they can offer. At the same time, Hrusha supports requirements proportionate to actual risks.

"For businesses, the only thing worse than strict rules is legal uncertainty. A strong regulatory system does more than impose controls; it also makes it possible to plan products years ahead."

How USDT restrictions affected users

In late 2024, Trustee announced restrictions on certain services involving USDT in the European Economic Area. This created inconvenience for people accustomed to a particular asset or transfer method.

Hrusha notes that stablecoins differ in their issuers, reserves, redemption terms, networks and risks.

"It is important not to confuse two separate issues here. The first is the legal status of the asset itself. The second is whether a particular legal entity is authorized to provide a specific service in a particular country."

Even if a stablecoin meets certain regulatory requirements, that does not automatically authorize a provider to offer every type of transaction involving it.

Hrusha does not see the future of this segment as being dominated by a single token. Instead, he believes users' choices will depend on issuer reliability, liquidity, transaction costs, compatibility and service availability.

The complexities of operating in Ukraine

Hrusha believes Ukraine's virtual asset market needs greater legal certainty. A single framework law is not enough. Implementing regulations, clearly defined regulatory responsibilities, authorization procedures, tax rules and distinctions between cryptocurrency, payment and banking services are also necessary.

"The market already exists: there are users, technology companies and Ukrainian teams developing international products. The question is whether we will create conditions that make it worthwhile to develop such businesses here."

For Trustee, what matters is not only the technical ability to provide services but also a stable operating model involving reliable partners. The company is exploring opportunities to expand its available services but has not announced any launches.

Trustee founder Vadym Hrusha with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Source: Trustee.

"We are prepared to consider expanding the available services as the necessary conditions take shape. But I would rather not promise specific features or timelines at this stage."

According to Hrusha, long-term stability matters more than making announcements for their own sake. He believes Ukraine can become a competitive jurisdiction if its regulations work effectively in practice.

Can self-custody be made simpler?

In July 2026, Trustee announced an integration with Privy to develop self-custody cryptocurrency solutions. The company's CEO sees potential in combining the simplicity of custodial services with users' control over their assets.

"Mainstream users need a familiar experience: simple onboarding, straightforward account recovery and minimal technical steps. But simplicity must not obscure the most important question: who can actually control the assets?"

Self-custody depends not on whether users sign in through Google or Apple, but on how private keys are managed, whether users can sign transactions independently and whether the provider can control their funds without their consent. Hrusha clarifies that the partnership with Privy represents a step toward developing such infrastructure, rather than a claim that all announced features are already available to every user.

How to balance AML checks and financial freedom

Financial monitoring is necessary to combat fraud and money laundering, Hrusha believes. Problems arise when compliance checks become opaque to legitimate users.

"The problem arises when a law-abiding person does not understand why a transaction has been delayed, what documents are required or how the review process works."

He supports a risk-based approach that places additional scrutiny on higher-risk transactions rather than imposing the same burden on everyone.

According to the figures he provided, approximately 0.04% of transactions in the relevant sample undergo enhanced anti-money laundering (AML) checks. This figure refers specifically to enhanced reviews and does not mean that other transactions are exempt from standard monitoring.

The company also focuses on timely reviews, clear communication and the ability to appeal decisions, where permitted by law and security requirements.

"Financial freedom does not mean an absence of rules. It means being able to understand the rules in advance, control your assets under your chosen model and have predictable mechanisms for protecting your interests."

What will shape the future of the crypto market?

Hrusha identifies five trends. The first is a shift from speculation toward practical applications, including transfers, payments and international settlements that remain useful during both market rallies and downturns.

The second is the development of stablecoins as financial infrastructure, which depends on trust in issuers, reserve quality, regulation and integration with payment systems. The third trend is self-custody without unnecessary technical complexity, supported by secure account recovery.

The fourth is tighter regulation, which will require companies to have clear business models, manage risks and comply with rules across different markets.

Hrusha places particular emphasis on the fifth trend: AI agents that could not only analyze information but also carry out financial transactions.

"Today, they already help analyze information and make decisions. The next stage is carrying out real financial actions on behalf of an individual or company. These include paying bills, managing limits, making transfers and settling payments with counterparties."

However, such agents will need clearly defined permissions, limits, activity logs, protection against abuse and the ability to revoke access immediately. Hrusha believes blockchain could provide the programmable foundation for these operations. He expects competition not only between AI models but also between platforms capable of securely connecting intelligent systems with access to money.

When discussing a future product designed for ten million AI agents, the entrepreneur explains that this figure illustrates the potential scale of the market rather than representing a forecast for a specific date.

"For me, the future of finance will not be determined by how much a particular token costs at the end of the year. What matters more is how easily people and their software assistants can use digital assets for real-world tasks."