In recent years, cryptocurrencies have seen growing levels of adoption compared to the situation a few years ago. For those of us who are eager to know how they are going to change the world, this is all exciting news. However, cryptocurrencies, apps and wallets have not reached mainstream adoption yet, and there’s definitely work to be done to get there. One differentiator could be the user experience (UX) that’s designed around the use of crypto products and digital currencies.As of now, there are many players that are trying to shape the future of this new type of currency. There are private miners that generate cryptocurrencies, crypto exchanges that that create apps and platforms allowing us to execute transactions on the blockchain, as well as central banks and retail banks that work on designing their own digital currencies as well as their crypto-related products such as ETFs.There are many possible futures when it comes to the use of crypto and digital currencies. No matter who ends up as the dominant player in the crypto world, for wide adoption to happen, UX will be key. The reason? The system around these new currencies is very new and fundamentally different from what we’ve seen before. It requires Crypto UX designers to carefully make it accessible to everyone. Let’s dive into the main reasons.
If you’ve been following the crypto space for a while, you know that most of the conversation in it is mainly led by tech enthusiasts. They usually advocate for one or another type of cryptocurrency that could be the “next big thing” after Bitcoin or Ethereum because of the blockchain projects they are attached to.This simply doesn’t speak to everyday people who are not particularly concerned about the underline blockchain technology. These potential consumers are concerned about other things that can be achieved using UX design in crypto apps and platforms.Let’s explore some of these areas.
You should always assume that people spend most of their time on other companies’ websites and apps, and that's how they are familiar with common design patterns and behaviors. If you want to keep your users longer in your virtual territory, you should take this into account. You’ll need to learn your actual and potential customers’ existing behaviors and mental models and design your crypto products and digital currencies with the UX they love.Let’s talk about the masses that haven’t adopted crypto products yet. When it comes to finances, most consumers’ mental models come from interaction with banks’ websites and apps that grew a lot since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. For examples, in Canada, the userbase of all mobile banking apps grew 40% in 2020 alone. For this reason, if the user interface (UI) of your crypto app or wallet look and feel fundamentally different from a banking website or app, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to attract additional customers beyond the early adopters.
On the flip side, it’s very likely that those consumers who have already adopted the use of crypto products do it for various reasons. Crypto UX designers need to study these mental models so you can design the best UX around them. For example:
When designing the UX/UI of your crypto app, you could also assume some might prefer to use their mobile device for some use cases, and some would choose their laptops or tablets for others.If you want to see the use of your crypto products grow, then it’s your role to learn about existing mental models and behaviors, and design the best UX around them.
Humans need to feel confident to trust other people, organizations, governments, and technology too. Good UX design can make this happen.Cryptocurrencies are still relatively very new. Crypto UX designers can’t just assume that if you have the best blockchain project that power crypto products, it will just sell itself. That might be true among tech enthusiasts that already understand the security benefits of the blockchain, but most people would need you to generate that feeling that your crypto products or digital currencies are indeed trustworthy. UX design is a good means of achieving that by designing good UIs around security features, as well as reminders about the potential level of risk that’s involved in crypto investment due to price fluctuation. People need that level of transparency to know that their money’s worth will still be there tomorrow and that your crypto products are secured, whether on your exchange or on someone’s cold wallet, especially given the growing levels of fraud around crypto products.
Learning to work with new infrastructure means a change in the overall UX that’s even more fundamental than a UI change. To get into crypto, your customers need to learn how to work with software and hardware wallets, secret phrases, as well as the meaning of decentralized platforms. The means that you’ll have to educate them about all of that through designing a top UX around your documentation and customer success.Many support teams are already bombarded with calls of customers who have problems with any type of digital experience in all industries. Think about what that means if you try to educate your customers that they are solely responsible for one of their most sensitive assets, money, and that if they lose a secret phrase they can lose their life savings. Therefore, crypto companies and Web3 UX design agency should think about the best way to onboard novice vs expert users of crypto products. The learning curve is steep, and you cannot assume people will just “figure it out”.
Open banking is becoming the norm in the UK, and many countries such as Canada, and Australia are catching up. Many experts already envision the next step which will be open finance.While designing the UX of crypto products and digital currencies, it’s good to keep this future in mind. It’s not unreasonable to think that banks will be able to integrate with crypto exchanges through 3rd parties, and that the entire financial ecosystem will look very different in a few years from now. Other technologies that could change the entire crypto landscape are AI, as well as trends around ESG since there are growing concerns around the environmental impacts of crypto mining.An example of how to design with this technologies in mind is adding an environmental benchmark with the impact of each cryptocurrency in your exchange so people wou care about ESG investment could take it into account in the same fashion banks rank their stocks now. It’s good to think about all of these when designing top UX for your upcoming crypto products.
Whether you are a traditional bank, digital bank, or a crypto exchange that offer crypto products, you need to have the expertise in UX in place due to all the reasons mentioned above. Great technology is absolutely a crucial part in the success of your crypto products and digital currencies but it can’t stand on its own.If you want to succeed in growing the number of your customers and contribute to higher levels of crypto adoption, you need to think about your UX right from the get go. That’s the key to having good success with different segments of current and potential customers.
Why does the UX of crypto products need educational and explanatory elements?Cryptocurrencies, wallets and apps are new and fundamentally different from what we've seen before. It requires meticulously designed UX and UI to make it accessible to everyone. In addition, great UX makes users feel that your crypto products are trustworthy.Have more questions on the UX design of crypto products?Talk to the Crypto UX Designers from UXBoost Now!
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Yaron is a professional in UX research and digital strategy. His expertise in user research and digital analytics contributed to design, product, and customer success teams in multiple industries, including banking, e-commerce, and Saas.
