Designing for Crypto: Simplifying Emerging Technologies & Diverse User Needs

Samiksha Makhijani at UXDX Community: Designing for the Future: Crypto & AI. Video: https://youtu.be/1b-dVQ9tPEc

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

Why crypto hasn't reached its potential

[00:00:07] Samiksha: Hey everyone, thank you so much for having me today. My name is Samiksha Makhijani, and today I'm here to talk about why crypto, despite all its power, still hasn't reached its potential. The reason is not that the technology isn't ready; the reason really is that the user experience is still not there yet.

[00:00:27] Crypto, on the other side, can be very revolutionary. It is fast, borderless, and it is so easy for money movement. But if you ask regular people around you whether they would stake ETH or send money with USDC, they're still confused and don't know what you're talking about. Honestly, I don't blame them, because it feels like we have built really powerful engines but forgot to design the right steering wheel for them. Today we will discover what exactly the crypto landscape is, why it hasn't reached its potential, and some of the principles and frameworks that we as product managers and designers can use to simplify crypto products.

[00:01:11] A little bit about me before we get started. I actually started my career in interior design, where I was designing physical spaces, and later I transitioned into graphic design and UX. In terms of experience, in the last few years I have gained strong expertise in AI, fintech and crypto, and I really enjoy solving complex problems and simplifying products. I am really passionate about giving back to the community, because they helped me a lot in reaching where I am today. Currently I serve as president of AIGA Miami. I am also an advisory group member for the Association of Registered Graphic Designers in Canada, and I am a committee member at Georgian College for the graphic design program.

[00:01:57] Around 2019 and 2020 there was so much buzz around Bitcoin and crypto. Friends, colleagues around me, and even people I was following on LinkedIn were all talking about Bitcoin and this new world of crypto. As excited as I was about it, I also had millions of questions in my mind. Was it a currency? Is it a new asset? How do you buy it? Is it similar to gold? How would you store it? And what if you lose it? Because I had so much curiosity and so many questions in mind, I continued learning about the crypto space. I read articles and tried to talk to people around me.

[00:02:40] I was still working in traditional finance around that time, and crypto was a taboo. Nobody wanted to talk about, or even use, crypto terminology or blockchain in meetings. So when an opportunity came from Circle, which is a company that sits at the heart of crypto innovation, I said yes. Honestly, it felt like diving into a pool without knowing how to swim. But that was the most exciting part, because when I started working in this space, it made me realize that it can be so overwhelming even for people who are already working in the finance field.

Crypto terms in plain language

[00:03:17] I'm sure this group knows, but I want to reiterate that crypto is not just Bitcoin or Ethereum or any other token. It's a new infrastructure for money movement, which is programmable. It allows borderless and fast money movement. But the problem is that most people around us still don't understand what crypto is and how to use it. I think that's where we as designers, product managers and technologists come in, to really simplify these products and increase mass adoption.

[00:03:49] You may have heard all these crypto terms around you, like blockchain, wallet and gas fee. If you are confused just like I was, here are some simple analogies. Blockchain is a public record book. It's a digital ledger which is immutable. Any transaction that you do on a blockchain cannot be modified or changed, and that's the beauty of blockchain. A wallet is really simple. It's like your checking account, savings account or Venmo account. The only difference is that if you hold the keys, you have full control over your funds. Let's say tomorrow Venmo goes down: you will lose your funds. But if you hold the keys, you can always go back to the chain and access your funds.

[00:04:32] Gas fee, on the other hand, is the most misunderstood one, and there's so much confusion around it. You can think about a gas fee as the postage fee that you pay to send a digital package, and depending on what chain you're using, the gas fee may differ and you may have to pay it. Now imagine if you had to send an email but you also had to choose what fees to pay and what server to use. That would be so confusing and overwhelming, and that's literally how crypto feels today. We must simplify it.

Research in Indonesia

[00:05:06] In 2023 we really wanted to understand how people think about money in different regions and how they perceive crypto. We traveled to Indonesia to dive more into it and understand how people are thinking about this new space, and some of the insights we received during that research were mind-blowing for me. I never thought that culture had such a significant role in how people think about money. One person said something which really stuck with me. His name was Budi. He said, "Hey, I want to use crypto, but I'm really scared to lose money. I have limited savings and I have a family to take care of." This is not just one story. These are the stories of millions of people who understand that crypto can help them build wealth, but they just don't know where to get started. People like Budi really want clarity, confidence and a simple UI that allows them to send money from one place to another.

[00:06:07] Budi sends funds to his family overseas very frequently, on a monthly basis. This is the difference. On the left side, if he sends money by wire, which is what he does today, it takes on average three to five business days and about $30 to $50, which is a really high amount in Indonesian rupiah. On the other hand, if he used stablecoins, which are pegged to the US dollar, so they are more stable and less volatile, he would have to spend less than $1, and it takes about five to 10 minutes. That's why crypto can be very revolutionary, but people just don't know how to use it. If you ask your grandma, your mom or dad, or your relatives living in remote areas, they are still sending funds by wire, which is perfectly fine, but they just don't understand the potential of crypto and how it can help them on a day-to-day basis.

Principles: clarity, contextual help and safety nets

[00:07:04] There are some key principles that I've observed over time that can be super powerful when designing crypto products. We often feel that if this is complex, we need to be transparent with the user and provide all different sorts of information. That's actually not true. People prefer clarity over complexity. It could be something as simple as using simple language, like "send" instead of "broadcast transaction." People really don't know what "broadcast transaction" means or where their money is going.

[00:07:33] There are also things like educational blurbs. I really like this quote: people don't read manuals. If you go to an ATM, you're not going to read an instruction manual, but people do read what's right in front of them. To give you an example, if you're sending funds and it tells you exactly what the different statuses are and how much time it's going to take, that's contextual advice that people trust, and it builds their confidence.

[00:07:58] There are also safety nets. When you're sending funds, you want to know what's happening with your funds. Did it go through? Was there an error? If users made a mistake, do they have the option to undo or modify some of those things? I'll give you an example. When you send funds on chain, it has multiple steps, and depending on what chain you're using, it could take up to 15 minutes. Imagine you're stuck on a screen: you've submitted your transaction, and all it says is "processing." You might be so confused, because you do not know if the funds went through, if they're stuck, or if you made a mistake. Clarity, giving users confidence and building trust are really important when it comes to crypto products. What we need to do is leverage all the Web2 patterns that people are already used to.

[00:08:51] In the past, when I was working in traditional finance, we did some user testing sessions, and one of my favorite users was an 80-year-old lady living in a remote part of Canada. She was a pro user, because she believes in the power of digital banking and finance, and she trusted it and used it on a daily basis. That's how crypto needs to feel today. The technology is there. We have powerful engines, but we need to build the right products to allow for mass adoption.

Crossing the chasm

[00:09:22] If you look at the adoption curve today, you can see that we're somewhere around the early adopters and visionaries, because most of the crypto products that we design today are focused on technologists or developers who are still playing around in the field and trying to see how blockchain can be powerful. But we really haven't touched the mainstream market, which is the other 80% of people: grandmas, moms, dads, those relatives living in remote areas. To cross this bridge, this chasm, will take a lot of simplicity. As adoption rises, we also need to think about what the user really needs to see on the screen. How can you provide them confidence as they're sending money, and build trust, so that they can just sit back and wait for the next five to 10 minutes while their money moves from one account to another?

[00:10:16] Honestly, this is also on us. I have been working in the crypto industry for a few years now, and one common thing I hear from my peers and colleagues, and degens [?] and people who are already very familiar with crypto, is that this is how crypto works today and everyone should understand it. But that "everyone" is really less than 5% of people. One thing I can say from my experience is that when we were conducting user testing sessions in the past with mature, very active treasury team members who understand this space, even then one out of the five users we were testing with constantly reiterated, "I don't understand how to navigate this. Can you please explain it to me?" That was a constant theme. If people who are already working in finance on a daily basis are so overwhelmed and confused about crypto, imagine regular people trying to understand how things work, with all the complicated terminology and workflows. Again, this is where designers, product managers and engineers can all come together to simplify these products and make them easy and accessible for the regular, common people around us.

Simple fixes that build trust

[00:11:31] There are some simple fixes that we could start with to build trust. There's a lot of confusing jargon around crypto, and honestly, when people see this technical jargon, they take two steps back, because they don't know what it means. We all know that when it comes to money and finances, we have emotions attached. Nobody wants to lose money. So use plain language, as we saw in the previous example: use the word "send," not "broadcast" or "processing on blockchain." Simplifying some of those terms and using simple language adopted from the Web2 world can really simplify it.

[00:12:09] Users don't understand fees. When it comes to crypto, there could be different types of fees: there could be a blockchain fee, there could be a transaction fee. Having all these fee line items really confuses them. If you can provide more transparency, add tooltips, and tell the user where this fee is going, whether it's going towards the network or the transaction, it builds trust.

[00:12:31] Again, remember that Budi had a strong fear of losing money, because he had a family to take care of. If we can provide clear confirmation steps, adopted from banking technology and what people are used to, we can again give them the confidence to use this revolutionary crypto landscape and move their money, especially when it comes to sending money abroad.

[00:12:54] Wallet connection is another huge pain point. If your wallet connection has expired, people want to know: was it a success or a failure? Do they need to reauthorize it? Providing more clarity around what's happening with the different statuses can help so much. These are just really simple things that we could start with, relying on some of the principles we talked about.

[00:13:20] Again, if we really want to focus on mass adoption and making crypto accessible for all, we need to start with simplicity. If we build simple products, thinking about something like an ATM that anyone can walk up to and access, that will actually increase mass adoption.

Two frameworks: IDEAL and the 3S

[00:13:40] There are two frameworks that I have found really helpful when working in the crypto field, especially because most crypto companies are still startups, and it's a very fast-paced environment. The first framework I've found helpful is the IDEAL framework, which is very similar to design thinking. You start with an idea: you identify a problem, for example gas fees, and how you simplify them. Then you go on to the discovery stage, where you explore how competitors are solving this problem, what the user flow is, where your product fits in the user's whole workflow, and how they're going to spend time on it. I highly encourage, if you're already working in the crypto field or thinking about it, that you involve multiple stakeholders in the discovery phase, because one thing I've learned from my experience is that in crypto nobody has complete knowledge, but collectively we can come together, leverage each other's expertise, and build simple products.

[00:14:40] Exploration: again, there could be multiple solutions, so explore all those options and then shortlist the top two or three that are feasible. Alignment: I cannot stress enough how important this is. When I was working in traditional finance, or before that, my core product partners were product managers or engineers. Since I've moved to crypto, I've realized that on a daily basis I'm talking to the regulatory compliance team, the legal team, the finance team, and everyone has an opinion on what the user experience should look like. There's nothing wrong with that, because they all come from different perspectives. You as the designer need to gather all that information and provide a simple UI to the user.

[00:15:27] Launch and learn: many times, especially in the B2B field, it can be really hard to test these products with users. A good approach is to build an MVP that is simple enough to use, launch it in the market, and learn from it. You can always build and improve in phases once you have launched the product.

[00:15:49] The second framework I call the 3S. Because we live mostly in the MVP world, before we even launch I always like asking three questions. Is this speedy enough? Is it feasible? Does this feel safe for the users? And the most important one: is this simple enough? One thing I would recommend, if you're already working in the crypto field or thinking about it: if you don't have access to many users, because again adoption is not very large yet, try it out with your friends, colleagues or parents, and see if they are able to use and understand it. If there's anything that's confusing to them, the chances are high that many people will find it confusing, and maybe you need to take another pass at it to simplify it further.

Wrapping up

[00:16:39] This is interesting. In 2024 about 830 million people were using crypto. It is estimated that by 2026 close to 1 billion people will be using crypto, which is a great jump. It's about an 11% increase from 2024 to 2026. This really means that by this year, one out of eight people will be using cryptocurrency. As the technology advances and adoption increases, we want to make sure that simplicity is also rising as we think about these products. We as designers can definitely create a huge positive impact and build the right products that can be used by many people around us.

[00:17:24] I want to wrap up by saying that crypto will go mainstream not when it is powerful. Along the way I've realized that technology increases adoption when it feels human. Think of some of the easy, simple products we have seen around us, like WhatsApp or the ATM. There are so many great fintech apps out there, and the banking industry itself has made huge improvements; these days it is so easy to send money. TransferWise is a great example. If you're designing products around crypto, really focus on simplicity. The other thing I want to mention is that many designers are really scared to get into crypto because they feel it's too technical. But trust me, not understanding the crypto world very deeply is actually our strongest power, because we come with fresh perspectives, and the questions we can ask our stakeholders and key partners are actually the way to simplify some of these products and make crypto accessible to all.

[00:18:27] I want to give you a fun challenge after the talk. This is a DIY five-minute challenge. If you haven't tried it, maybe today after work, go to the Coinbase app and buy a small amount of USDC. USDC is a stablecoin that is pegged to the US dollar: if you buy $10 worth of USDC, you will get 10 USDC. Send it to someone you love. Just enter their phone number and watch how fast it lands. If you want to add some more fun to it, and this is something I tried, try it with your loved one while they're sitting next to you. You will see the smile on their face as soon as they get a text saying they have received a couple of USDC. They'll be really happy, and that's how you can educate the people around you to use crypto, and particularly stablecoins, for mass adoption. With that I would like to end. Thank you so much, and I'm happy to take any questions.

Q&A

[00:19:27] Host: Excellent, thank you very much. It's an interesting topic, because crypto is one of those things that keeps feeling like it's about to break through, with all the recent rulings around cryptos being seen as valid securities in the US and things like that. It's an interesting one that I'm sure a lot of people are looking forward to. If you do have any questions, please do write them in and I will put them through to Samiksha. We do have one; it's more of a comment than a question, but I'll put it to you, from Goind [?]: "Regulations are crypto killers. People are scared." What would be your response to that statement?

[00:20:16] Samiksha: Honestly, there are two sides to it. In one way it is really good that we have regulatory compliance, because safety is a big concern when it comes to crypto, and it also builds trust. When you have regulatory compliance in place in different regions, people are more comfortable using it. Everyone who is really interested in using crypto is constantly watching the news, and they want to make sure their funds are safe. On the other side, there are already efforts in place to simplify regulatory compliance, in the EU region, in Singapore, in the US; there are different approaches. But again, as designers, I think we can gather all that information and think about how we can still build secure products but simplify them for the users, so they don't have to worry about all the technical things. We can make all of that invisible behind the scenes and still provide a simple, easy-to-use product for mass adoption.

[00:21:16] Host: Excellent. I'm going to play a bit of devil's advocate, because I always like a little bit of controversy. I've heard it said that crypto is a technology in search of a problem. The meaning behind that is that everybody's trying to figure out what the killer app is for crypto. What's your opinion on that? What is the killer app? What is crypto better at than, say, a centralized server?

[00:21:44] Samiksha: One of the strongest parts of crypto is having full control, and that's where Web3 comes in. For a long period of time, as we've seen in 2008, and with FTX [?], people are really worried about their money: if the company goes down, you lose your funds. But there's definitely a learning curve. When you want to own your keys, there's also a lot of responsibility that comes with it. I'll share an example of something that happened just yesterday. There was one app I was trying to log in to. Maybe a few years back I had already logged in, but I completely forgot to download the seed phrase, the key. I reached out to help and support, and they said, "Hey, I'm really sorry, we cannot recover your account." Yes, I was frustrated. But if you look at it from the other side, if I had funds there, that is more secure, because the companies are giving more power to you, and that's where Web3 is so powerful. You own the funds, you take care of them, and if tomorrow something goes down, you can always access your funds on chain.

[00:22:47] You need to be aware of how the technology works. And again, I want to reiterate that that's where we can simplify and think about the common areas. For example, onboarding is a big thing, especially in B2B areas where they have to go through the KYB process and so on. It's still not very mature. There are definitely different areas, for example controlling your keys, wallet management, onboarding, where we can think about the whole workflow and simplify those complex workflows into a simple UI.

[00:23:19] Host: Brilliant. You touched on a few of the points there, like onboarding, and you mentioned in the talk that people aren't familiar with the crypto space, and you gave some suggestions for how to design for that. Are there any apps you would recommend as a showcase of best practice, of how you can do it well?

[00:23:44] Samiksha: Yeah, absolutely. I'm talking this through from some of the research: I really like talking to people around me and asking, "Hey, have you used crypto?" I love hearing the responses. I think the most common app I've heard about is Coinbase, because they've really simplified the experience and made it easy. For a very long period of time you had to enter the wallet address to send funds, and that's tricky, because it can have 18 to 48 characters. Nobody remembers that, and if you miss even one character here or there, it can mess up your funds. I think Coinbase has done a really good job, and it now feels like any other fintech app: just enter the phone number. I've tried it myself with somebody who was sitting next to me. I sent them the funds, and they were super happy to see that they'd received a text. It was so simple and so magical.

[00:24:33] There are definitely so many opportunities where we can improve further. But in the last year or so, I would say many companies have been striving to improve the user experience, and now they've realized that simple products and user experience can play such a critical role. Coinbase is definitely one. Stripe is also now integrating with crypto. MetaMask is another one that I think is doing a really good job. Circle is heavily focused on the B2B space, and so on. Even at Zero Hash we're trying to simplify these products. So there are many key players out in the market who are trying to simplify it, but if I have to say what I have heard from people around me, Coinbase is their go-to.

[00:25:22] Host: Brilliant. We have another question come in: how can we focus on accessibility in crypto? I guess it's linking in with how it's hard to do onboarding even for people who have full access to our websites and everything. What about people with accessibility needs?

[00:25:41] Samiksha: Yeah, absolutely. I think there are two sides to it. One is that anything we apply in user experience, for example color contrast and typography, we can translate that same knowledge to the crypto side as well, because they are still products. But I want to come back to some of the principles I highlighted. In my experience there has been a lot of pushback, and I feel a content strategist can play a key role, because when it comes to technical jargon, we're so immersed in how crypto works that we often forget it's still complicated for the common people around us. In the past I've worked with content designers, and they've done an excellent job of nailing it down and providing options leveraged from the Web2 world and banking applications and so on, which really makes it easy to understand. So on that side, it's constantly thinking about simplifying and making it more accessible so everyone understands it. But when it comes to web accessibility, it's still the same fundamentals that can be applied to any product, whether it's crypto, finance, banking or anything else.

[00:26:50] Host: It's a great point. It's just another product at the end of the day from a digital perspective, so we can reuse the same best practices that we have.

[00:26:58] Samiksha: Absolutely.

[00:26:59] Host: Brilliant. Just looking at time, we're pretty much out of time, so I just want to thank you once again for sharing, and I hope everybody out there enjoyed it as much as I did.

[00:27:09] Samiksha: Thank you so much.