Ethereum ecosystem developers Kain and Austin have highlighted how cross-chain incompatibility is driving users away from self-custodial wallets toward centralized, database-backed solutions they call "database dollars." Austin, who built a Safe-based wallet using passkeys and spending limits for simplified send-and-receive functionality, noted that users increasingly don't want a wallet — they just want to transact. The core problem, according to Kain, is that the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) environment cannot deploy Safe across it, leaving no unified infrastructure for cross-chain fund movement. When applications need to support features like trading on Pump.fun, developers are forced to compromise security for usability, effectively pushing funds into custodial databases rather than maintaining true self-sovereign control. Austin acknowledged the tradeoff: his EVM-focused build works well within Ethereum's ecosystem but can't meet demand for other chains. The result, both argued, is an industry where fragmented chain compatibility prevents developers from building seamless user experiences, ultimately undermining crypto's foundational promise of self-custody.