Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"bd035130-4c3b-41dc-a547-fc8fe9fda8fc","kind":"publish","page_slug":"fuse-wallet","published_at":"2026-06-01T04:17:47.402Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Fuse Wallet","sections":[{"content":"Fuse Wallet is a consumer-facing iOS application developed by Squads Labs, a fintech company incorporated as the core contributor to Squads Protocol on the Solana blockchain. Squads Labs was founded in 2021 and originally focused on multisig infrastructure for DAOs and development teams before expanding to individual users via Fuse. The Squads Protocol smart account standard reportedly secures over $10 billion in value across more than 250 institutional teams and thousands of individual users on Solana. Fuse was first announced as Solana's first smart wallet; public TestFlight access opened on June 10, 2024 alongside a Series A funding announcement, and the app became publicly available on the Apple App Store on December 23, 2025. As of June 2026, Fuse is iOS-only with no publicly announced Android release date.","heading":"Background and Developer","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse: Solana's First Smart Wallet (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-solana-s-first-smart-wallet"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Now Available On Apple App Store (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-apple-app-store"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A, Unveils Smart Wallet for Public Testing on iOS — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/06/10/squads-labs-raises-10m-series-a-unveils-smart-wallet-for-public-testing-on-ios"}]},{"content":"Squads Labs has disclosed its founding team publicly. Stepan Simkin is co-founder and CEO; his background prior to Squads includes legal work as a lawyer specializing in corporate restructuring and M&A at Clifford Chance. Co-founders include Deni Ershtukaev (COO) and Sean Ganser. The company's team page on Crunchbase and other directories lists Simkin as the public face of the organization. At Solana Breakpoint 2023, contributors Thomas Lefort and Valentin Madrid (both subsequently departed to co-found Exponent Finance) and Vova Guguiyev presented account abstraction work attributed to Squads Labs. The team reportedly grew to over 20 members with backgrounds at Google, Microsoft, Uber, and crypto-native projects. Team identities are publicly disclosed and verifiable; no anonymous or pseudonymous leadership has been identified. The Fuse product itself does not publicly name a separate dedicated team beyond the Squads Labs organization.","heading":"Team Transparency","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Stepan Simkin — Crunchbase Profile","type":"other","url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/stepan-simkin"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads on Solana: Project Review — Solana Compass","type":"research","url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/squads"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A from Electric Capital (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://squads.xyz/blog/squads-labs-raises-10-million-series-a-from-electric-capital"}]},{"content":"Fuse is designed as a self-custody wallet. Each user wallet deploys a programmable smart account on Solana governed by Squads Protocol. The security model requires approval from 2-of-3 designated keys for transactions: a Device Key (stored locally on the iPhone and protected by biometric authentication via Apple Face ID), a 2FA Key (stored in iCloud by default, upgradeable to a Ledger hardware wallet), and up to three optional Recovery Keys (which can be external Solana wallets such as Phantom or Backpack, or cold wallets such as Ledger). User funds are not held by Squads Labs or any custodian; ownership is enforced by Solana validators. Squads Labs describes itself as 'a financial technology company, not a bank.' The wallet does not accept seed phrase imports and does not connect to external dApps directly, limiting the attack surface compared to browser-extension wallets. A notable dependency exists on Apple's iCloud infrastructure for the default 2FA Key configuration; users who do not migrate their 2FA Key to a hardware wallet remain partially dependent on iCloud availability and security.","heading":"Custody Model","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Security Overview (Official Support)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/fuse-security"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Navigating Self Custody: Fuse vs. Other Crypto Wallets (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-vs-crypto-wallets"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What are Smart Accounts (Official Support)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/what-are-smart-accounts"}]},{"content":"Squads Labs has raised approximately $40.9 million in disclosed funding across multiple rounds. An initial $5 million seed round was raised in 2022. A $5.7 million strategic round closed in July 2023, led by Placeholder VC with participation from Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures, Jump Crypto, L1 Digital, Delphi Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Layer One Ventures, Everstake, and angel investors including Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana co-founder), Mert Mumtaz (CEO of Helius Labs), and Lucas Bruder (CEO of Jito Labs). A $10 million Series A was announced on June 10, 2024, led by Electric Capital with participation from RockawayX, Coinbase Ventures, L1D, Placeholder, and Mert Mumtaz. In April 2026, Squads raised an additional $18 million led by Solana Ventures to expand its Altitude stablecoin platform, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Electric Capital, Placeholder, Jump Crypto, Robot Ventures, and Collab+Currency. No equity crowdfunding, retail token sales, or anonymous funding sources have been identified for either Squads Labs or the Fuse product.","heading":"Funding and Investors","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A from Electric Capital — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/06/10/squads-labs-raises-10m-series-a-unveils-smart-wallet-for-public-testing-on-ios"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Solana-based multisig protocol Squads raises $5.7 million — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/257727/solana-based-multisig-protocol-squads-raises-5-7-million-from-multicoin-placeholder-and-others"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Labs raises $10M in Series A — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/299287/solana-multisig-protocol-squads-funding-fuse"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Solana Ventures leads $18 million round in Squads — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/399386/solana-ventures-squads-funding-stablecoin-altitude"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Raises $18M to Build Business Finance on Stablecoin Infrastructure — PR Newswire","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/squads-raises-18m-to-build-business-finance-on-stablecoin-infrastructure-302757563.html"}]},{"content":"Fuse Wallet is built on top of Squads Protocol v4, which has undergone multiple independent security audits and formal verification. Auditing firms engaged for Squads Protocol v4 include OtterSec, Neodyme, Trail of Bits, and Certora. Formal verification was completed by both OtterSec and Certora. Earlier versions (v3) were audited by OtterSec and formally verified using OtterSec's Solana program verification framework. The Squads Protocol v4 audit reports are publicly documented in the Squads security documentation. No public audit specifically targeting the Fuse Wallet application layer (as distinct from the underlying Squads Protocol smart contracts) has been identified in available sources; this represents a minor evidence gap for application-level security review. The wallet's security model eliminates single points of failure by requiring two independent keys for transaction approval. Third-party infrastructure dependencies include Apple's iCloud (for the default 2FA Key), Lead Bank (debit card issuer), and Bridge (card program manager for Fuse Card).","heading":"Security Architecture and Audits","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Security Measures for Squads Protocol v4 (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://squads.xyz/blog/v4-security-measures"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Security | Squads Docs","type":"official","url":"https://docs.squads.so/main/basics/security"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads Protocol v4 Security Audits | Squads Docs","type":"official","url":"https://docs.squads.so/main/security/security-audits/squads-protocol-v4"},{"credibility":1,"name":"OtterSec Audit PDF — Squads v3 (GitHub)","type":"research","url":"https://github.com/Squads-Protocol/squads-mpl/blob/main/Squads%20V3%20-%20OtterSec%20Audit.pdf"}]},{"content":"No hacks, exploits, fund losses, or fraud allegations specific to Fuse Wallet have been identified in publicly available sources as of June 2026. No SEC, CFTC, DOJ, or other regulatory enforcement actions against Squads Labs or the Fuse Wallet product have been identified. A separate, unrelated company called 'Fuse Crypto Limited' received an SEC no-action letter in November 2025 relating to its energy rewards token — this entity is unrelated to Fuse Wallet or Squads Labs. Similarly, 'Fuse Lending' (a Philippines-based lending app associated with GCash) and 'Fuse Network' (an Ethereum-compatible blockchain) are separate, unrelated entities that share the 'Fuse' name and should not be conflated with Fuse Wallet. No significant user complaints relating to loss of funds or unauthorized access have been identified in indexed public sources; however, the product's relatively recent public launch (December 2025) limits the available historical data.","heading":"Known Incidents and Complaints","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet on Solana — Solana Compass (no incidents noted)","type":"research","url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/fuse-wallet"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet Review: The First Smart Wallet for Solana — CoinCu","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincu.com/other-reviews/fuse-wallet-review-first-smart-wallet-for-solana/"}]},{"content":"Fuse offers a virtual Visa prepaid debit card ('Fuse Card') that allows users to spend USDC stablecoins anywhere Visa is accepted. The card is issued by Lead Bank pursuant to a Visa U.S.A. license. Bridge (a Bridge Ventures LLC entity) serves as Program Manager; Squads Labs is identified as the Platform Provider. All Fuse Card applicants must complete KYC verification through Bridge. As of the time of research, the card is available to U.S. users (excluding residents of New York and Alaska) and Argentine users aged 18 or older. The use of regulated banking partners (Lead Bank) and a required KYC process indicates a compliance posture aligned with standard U.S. fintech card issuance requirements. Squads Labs also added ACH and SEPA bank transfer support in 2025, further extending the product's fiat on/off-ramp capabilities. Fuse Card geographic restrictions (excluding New York and Alaska) are consistent with standard prepaid card regulatory constraints.","heading":"Fuse Card (Debit Card) and Regulatory Considerations","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Card — Official Support","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/fuse-visa-card"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Introducing Fuse Pay: A Virtual Card For Your Fuse Wallet (Official Blog)","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-pay"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet adds ACH and SEPA transfers on Solana — Altcoin Buzz","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/bitcoin-and-crypto-guide/fuse-wallet-adds-ach-and-sepa-transfers-on-solana/"}]},{"content":"Several risk factors are identified for informational purposes. First, the wallet is currently iOS-only, limiting accessibility. Second, the default iCloud-based 2FA Key introduces a dependency on Apple infrastructure; a compromised iCloud account could, in combination with other factors, reduce wallet security — though the multisig model requires two of three keys to be compromised simultaneously for funds to be at risk. Third, smart account technology on Solana is comparatively newer than established wallet standards; while audited, the protocol is not battle-tested over multi-year periods at large scale. Fourth, the Fuse Wallet application layer itself has not been independently audited as a standalone product in public records, though its core smart contract infrastructure (Squads Protocol v4) has received extensive third-party review. Fifth, as with any non-custodial wallet, users who lose access to all their keys without recovery options could face permanent loss of funds. Sixth, Bridge and Lead Bank involvement introduces counterparty exposure for Fuse Card functionality, though this does not affect the self-custody wallet itself. No token associated with Fuse Wallet has been issued as of June 2026; speculative claims about future airdrops represent unverified community discussion.","heading":"Risk Factors and Limitations","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Security Overview — Official Support","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/fuse-security"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet Review: Smart Solana Wallet with Debit Card — Soladex","type":"research","url":"https://www.soladex.io/project/fuse"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet — Official Website","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse: Solana's First Smart Wallet — Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-solana-s-first-smart-wallet"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Now Available On Apple App Store — Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-apple-app-store"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Security Overview — Official Support","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/fuse-security"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Card — Official Support","type":"official","url":"https://fusewallet.com/support/fuse-visa-card"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A, Unveils Smart Wallet for Public Testing on iOS — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/06/10/squads-labs-raises-10m-series-a-unveils-smart-wallet-for-public-testing-on-ios"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Solana-based multisig protocol Squads raises $10 million, launches retail wallet app Fuse — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/299287/solana-multisig-protocol-squads-funding-fuse"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Solana-based multisig protocol Squads raises $5.7 million — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/257727/solana-based-multisig-protocol-squads-raises-5-7-million-from-multicoin-placeholder-and-others"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Solana Ventures leads $18 million round in Squads — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/399386/solana-ventures-squads-funding-stablecoin-altitude"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A from Electric Capital — Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://squads.xyz/blog/squads-labs-raises-10-million-series-a-from-electric-capital"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Security Measures for Squads Protocol v4 — Official Blog","type":"official","url":"https://squads.xyz/blog/v4-security-measures"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads Protocol v4 Security Audits — Squads Docs","type":"official","url":"https://docs.squads.so/main/security/security-audits/squads-protocol-v4"},{"credibility":1,"name":"OtterSec Audit — Squads v3 (GitHub)","type":"research","url":"https://github.com/Squads-Protocol/squads-mpl/blob/main/Squads%20V3%20-%20OtterSec%20Audit.pdf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet on Solana — Solana Compass","type":"research","url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/fuse-wallet"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Squads on Solana — Solana Compass","type":"research","url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/squads"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Stepan Simkin — Crunchbase","type":"other","url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/stepan-simkin"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet Review: The First Smart Wallet for Solana — CoinCu","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincu.com/other-reviews/fuse-wallet-review-first-smart-wallet-for-solana/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet Review: Smart Solana Wallet with Debit Card — Soladex","type":"research","url":"https://www.soladex.io/project/fuse"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Squads Raises $18M to Build Business Finance on Stablecoin Infrastructure — PR Newswire","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/squads-raises-18m-to-build-business-finance-on-stablecoin-infrastructure-302757563.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fuse Wallet adds ACH and SEPA transfers on Solana — Altcoin Buzz","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/bitcoin-and-crypto-guide/fuse-wallet-adds-ach-and-sepa-transfers-on-solana/"}],"summary":"Fuse Wallet is a Solana-based smart wallet developed by Squads Labs, the team behind Squads Protocol, Solana's leading multisig and smart account infrastructure. Launched in public TestFlight in June 2024 and on the Apple App Store in December 2025, Fuse replaces traditional seed phrases with a multi-factor authentication model built on Squads Protocol's audited smart account standard. Squads Labs has raised approximately $40.9 million across multiple funding rounds from institutional investors including Electric Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Multicoin Capital, and no known regulatory actions, hacks, or fraud allegations have been identified against the product.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-01-01","event":"Squads Labs founded by Stepan Simkin, Deni Ershtukaev, and Sean Ganser, initially focused on DAO multisig tooling on Solana.","source":"Crunchbase / Squads Labs profile","source_url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/squads-45a1"},{"date":"2022-01-01","event":"Squads Labs raises approximately $5 million in seed funding from Solana Ventures and others.","source":"Decrypt — Squads Raises $5 Million","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/93589/squads-5-million-supercharge-daos-solana"},{"date":"2023-07-01","event":"Squads Labs closes $5.7 million strategic round led by Placeholder VC with participation from Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures, Jump Crypto, and others; total funding reaches $12.5 million.","source":"The Block — Squads raises $5.7 million","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/257727/solana-based-multisig-protocol-squads-raises-5-7-million-from-multicoin-placeholder-and-others"},{"date":"2023-10-01","event":"Squads Protocol v4 undergoes multiple security audits by OtterSec, Neodyme, Trail of Bits, and Certora, with formal verification completed.","source":"Squads v4 Security Measures — Official Blog","source_url":"https://squads.xyz/blog/v4-security-measures"},{"date":"2024-06-10","event":"Squads Labs announces $10 million Series A led by Electric Capital; launches Fuse Wallet on public TestFlight for iOS.","source":"CoinDesk — Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/06/10/squads-labs-raises-10m-series-a-unveils-smart-wallet-for-public-testing-on-ios"},{"date":"2025-03-19","event":"Fuse Wallet becomes available on the Apple App Store.","source":"Fuse Blog — Fuse Now Available On Apple App Store","source_url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-apple-app-store"},{"date":"2025-12-23","event":"Fuse Wallet publicly launches on Apple App Store for general download (invite codes required for initial onboarding).","source":"Fuse Blog — App Store launch announcement","source_url":"https://fusewallet.com/blog/fuse-apple-app-store"},{"date":"2025-12-01","event":"Squads launches Altitude stablecoin treasury platform for businesses; Altitude processes over $200 million in payments within months.","source":"PR Newswire — Squads Raises $18M","source_url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/squads-raises-18m-to-build-business-finance-on-stablecoin-infrastructure-302757563.html"},{"date":"2026-04-29","event":"Squads raises $18 million led by Solana Ventures to expand Altitude; total disclosed funding reaches approximately $40.9 million.","source":"The Block — Solana Ventures leads $18 million round","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/399386/solana-ventures-squads-funding-stablecoin-altitude"}]},"v":1}