MetaMask is about to issue coins: What concerns are there behind the ecological flywheel and high valuation of the Wallet?

MetaMask is rumored to be issuing a native token, how will this change the competitive landscape of the entire crypto wallet track? This article is from an article by Honey Bakery and was compiled, compiled and written by PANews. (Synopsis: MetaMask is rumored to launch stablecoin mUSD at the end of this month, Blackstone and Stripe assist) (Background supplement: MetaMask adds Google, Apple social login function, how to ensure security? MetaMask, the self-custodial crypto wallet with the largest number of users in the world, has finally announced that it is about to issue a native token. ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin confirmed in a September 18, 2025 interview that the MetaMask native token (referred to as $MASK by industry speculation) "may arrive sooner than everyone expected." This news immediately aroused great concern in the market. As one of the most important traffic portals in the Ethereum ecosystem, what does MetaMask coin? Why choose to issue coins at the current point in time? What are the possible uses and values of its tokens? And how will it affect the competitive landscape of the entire crypto wallet track? This article will analyze these issues in depth, and give the author's insights based on MetaMask's product layout, issuance motivation, token economic model, valuation analysis, and ecological synergy. MetaMask has been the "big brother" of the wallet space since its launch in 2016, sitting on the largest user base and highest visibility. Since then, it has evolved from a simple Ethereum wallet to a comprehensive Web3 portal, and its product landscape includes: Multi-chain self-custodial wallet: Browser extensions and mobile wallets that support Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains, and extend support to non-EVM chains through Snaps plug-ins, with about 30 million monthly active users. Built-in trading function: Integrated token Swap aggregator, able to integrate quotes from multiple DEXs, with a cumulative fee income of about $325 million. Bridging and fiat channels: Provide cross-chain bridging services and channels for fiat currency purchases, and support the registration process for new users through social account logins. Staking & Yield: Built-in Ethereum staking portal and Portfolio asset management interface make it easy for users to manage their multi-chain asset portfolio. Institutional Wallet: MetaMask Institutional (MMI) is designed for institutional users, providing more advanced permission control and multi-signature capabilities. MetaMask USD stablecoin (mUSD): A US dollar stablecoin announced in August 2025, hosted by Stripe-owned Bridge, and scheduled to launch on Ethereum and Linea. This is the industry's first native stablecoin issued by a self-custodial wallet and aims to improve the convenience of users holding and using US dollar assets within the wallet. MetaMask Card: A charge card launched in partnership with Mastercard that allows crypto assets to be used directly for consumer payments and instant conversions. However, the "throne" is not a restless place, and challengers from far and wide are becoming increasingly powerful. Trust Wallet (TWT): As the core wallet of the Binance ecosystem, Trust Wallet has more than 200 million mobile downloads and tens of millions of active users, which is on the same order of magnitude as MetaMask. Moreover, it issued the token TWT as early as 2020, successfully using the token incentive to retain a large number of users. Phantom: The leading wallet of the Solana ecosystem, known for its extremely smooth user experience, has quickly accumulated millions of users in the Solana ecosystem. Now, it has also begun to expand to multi-chain, entering Ethereum, directly threatening the core turf of MetaMask. In the face of fierce competition, simple product iteration is no longer enough. MetaMask had to resort to the classic strategy of "coin drainage", raising the competitive dimension from "which wallet is better to use" to "which ecosystem I can jointly own and share its growth dividends". Through large-scale airdrops to tens of millions of loyal old users, $MASK will become the strongest weapon to activate silent users, expand market voice, and consolidate user loyalty. At this moment, the issuance of coins is expected to help MetaMask regain a city at the marketing level and strengthen its position as the king of Web3 entrances. In addition, the timing of the current coin issuance is also closely related to the regulatory environment. In February 2025, ConsenSys reached an agreement with the SEC to drop the unregistered securities or broker charges against MetaMask, which temporarily eased the regulatory pressure on MetaMask. At this time, the issuance of coins can be described as "after this village, there will be no such shop". At the same time, other products in the ConsenSys ecosystem (such as Linea and mUSD) have taken advantage of this wave of "regulatory dividends" to take the lead, and if MetaMask is slow, it may miss the opportunity to work synergistically with these products, thus dragging down the operation of the entire ecological flywheel of ConsenSys. More than "Air Coins": Potential Use Cases and Value Capture for $MASK Although the official token white paper has not yet been released (even the token symbol of $MASK is only speculated by the community), based on industry experience, we can reasonably speculate that $MASK tokens will have the following core functions to avoid becoming "air coins" with no real value. Governance (Governance): This is the fundamental utility of all mainstream protocol tokens. $MASK holders will have the right to vote on the future development of the protocol, which may include adjusting MetaMask Swap fees, prioritizing the development of new features, managing the use of funds from the Community Vault, etc. Fee discounts/waivers (Fee Discounts): This is the utility that most directly attracts high-frequency trading users. By holding or staking a certain amount of $MASK tokens, users can enjoy fee discounts or even reductions when using MetaMask Swap (the current rate is 0.875%) and the cross-chain bridge feature. This model has been successfully verified by Trust Wallet's TWT token, which can effectively increase user stickiness and transaction volume. Staking & Revenue Sharing (Staking & Revenue Share): In order for token holders to directly share in the protocol's growth dividends, MetaMask can design a staking mechanism. By staking $MASK tokens, users can share a proportional share of the protocol's revenue. These sources of income can be varied, such as fees generated by MetaMask Swap or interest income generated by its native stablecoin, mUSD, through its reserve assets, such as U.S. Treasuries. Exclusive Access/Value-added Services (Exclusive Access): $MASK Tokens can also serve as a form of identity or proof of stake, providing their holders with a range of exclusive benefits, such as priority access to new features in beta, access to application limits...