Defied vs MetaMask: two self-custody wallets, built for different people

MetaMask and Defied have one important thing in common: they're both self-custody wallets. Your funds sit in an onchain account (an account on a public blockchain network) that only you control, and neither company can move or freeze them.

Otherwise they differ. MetaMask is a general crypto wallet: any token, dozens of networks, thousands of apps. Defied is built for one job, holding and moving digital dollars and euros, and hides the parts of crypto most people don't want to deal with.

This guide compares the two so you can decide which one fits you, or whether to use both.

The short answer

• Choose MetaMask if you use many tokens, networks or onchain apps and are comfortable managing a recovery phrase and network fees.
• Choose Defied if you want digital dollars and euros (USDC and EURC) with email sign-in, no recovery phrase to store, a bank connection and network fees covered on supported actions.
• Use both if you want Defied for everyday money and MetaMask for exploring. You can export your Defied key to MetaMask.

Signing in and recovery

MetaMask creates your wallet from a Secret Recovery Phrase, a list of words that is the master key to your funds. Anyone who has it can take everything, and if you lose it and your device, nobody can restore your wallet.

Defied creates your wallet when you sign in with your email or Google account, with the key secured by cryptography rather than a phrase on paper. There's nothing to write down, and you can still export your key at any time and use it in any compatible app. The trade-off is that your email account becomes part of your security, so protect it with a strong password and two-factor authentication.

Our guide to non-custodial wallets explains both models in more depth.

What you can hold

MetaMask holds almost any token on Ethereum and other compatible networks, including Base, and lets you add more. It also offers its own dollar stablecoin, mUSD, issued with Bridge on Ethereum and Linea.

Defied holds two: USDC and EURC, digital dollars and euros issued by Circle, on Base. We chose that limit: no unknown tokens turn up in your balance, and there's only one network to send on.

Network fees

Every onchain action has a small network fee. In MetaMask you usually pay it in the network's own token, such as ETH, so you need to hold some alongside your other funds and top it up when it runs out.

In Defied the network fee is covered on supported actions, so you never need to buy a second token just to send your dollars or euros. Sending to another wallet is free. Swaps, bank top-ups and withdrawals have a fee, listed on our fees page.

Getting money in and out

MetaMask lets you buy crypto through partner providers, with their own checks and fees, and in some regions offers a payment card that spends from your wallet.

Defied connects to your bank through a personal IBAN, where available. Euros sent to it by SEPA arrive as EURC, and you can send EURC back to a bank account as euros. Defied has no card today.

Earning and apps

MetaMask connects to thousands of onchain apps, from exchanges to lending markets to games. It's up to you to tell a sound app from a scam.

Defied connects to a short list of public lending markets on Base, such as Aave and Morpho, and shows you each market's rate and size before you decide. Rates are variable and never guaranteed, and lending carries protocol risk. Here's where that yield comes from, and our risk disclosure covers the risks.

Which one should you use

• New to crypto, want dollars or euros you control: Defied.
• Trading many tokens or using onchain apps: MetaMask.
• Getting paid by bank transfer and holding the money yourself: Defied, with a personal IBAN where available.
• Both: keep everyday money in Defied, and export your key to MetaMask when you want to go further.

Whichever you pick, anyone who gets your login or your phrase can take your money, so keep it safe.

Start with Defied

Defied is a wallet for EURC and USDC that only you control. Hold, send and swap them, and lend in public onchain markets at variable rates, without a bank. Get the app for iPhone, or use it in your browser.

This article is for informational purposes only. Defied is a non-custodial software interface and does not provide financial advice. Please read our risk disclosure and terms of use before using the Services.

Last updated: 2026-10-23