Safis: A cryptocurrency exchange that also helps users understand crypto

My Roles: End to end research and design, including: user research, ideation, wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, usability studies, iterating on designs

Introduction

The Product: Cryptocurrencies (often shortened to crypto) like Bitcoin have been around for more than a decade, but only a small fraction of people actually use them. Why? They’re confusing and a little scary, and people don’t like what they don’t understand. I designed a responsive website for a fictional service called Safis that integrates learning crypto with buying and trading it.

The exchange is designed to cater to the absolute beginner. Cryptocurrencies are still used by a small minority of people, and gain value the more they are adopted, so it is in everyone’s interest to make cryptocurrencies accessible to everyone.

The name Safis comes from the Greek σαφής (pronounced “safis”) meaning clear. It’s intended to contrast with “crypto”, Greek for secret.

The Problem: Cryptocurrencies are difficult to understand, and current exchange websites don’t provide enough guidance. Users are expected to already know about crypto before they use the site.

The Goal: To create a responsive website for a service that both explains and makes it easy for users to buy and trade a variety of cryptocurrencies.

My Role: End to end research and design, including: user research, ideation, wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, usability studies, iterating on designs

The User

User Research Summary: I interviewed five people who were interested in investing in cryptocurrencies, but who hesitated because of a general lack of understanding, and a sense that crypto was a “boys’ club” of finance professionals that they didn’t belong to. These were young professionals who worked in diverse fields who knew at least one person who had bought cryptocurrencies, but hadn’t done so themselves.

I did expect to find this type of user, because most people have at least heard of cryptocurrencies, but overall adoption is relatively low. Because of these findings, I endeavored to create a website that was friendly to their concerns.

Pain Points:

1. Fear of the Unknown: Some people who haven’t invested in cryptocurrencies haven’t done so because they worry that they don’t know enough to do so safely. The crypto market is currently very volatile.

2. Overwhelmed by Choices: There are many choices in what cryptocurrencies to choose from, and people new to crypto don’t know which one to choose

3. Feel Like an Outsider: Three people I interviewed mentioned their stereotype of someone who buys cryptocurrency; namely, a young savvy male investor with a seemingly innate knowledge of how crypto works. They felt they didn’t fit that category, and because of that felt like an outsider to the cryptocurrency world. One interviewee said, “I don’t know, it’s probably a good idea, but it’s so full bros who will make fun of me for asking a question that I don’t know if I want to get into it.” Potential users felt locked out and insecure.

Problem Statement: Carly is a young professional who needs a way to feel more comfortable with cryptocurrencies so that she can make money long term by investing in cryptocurrencies.

Starting the Design

I set out to create a cryptocurrency exchange that would democratize crypto by walking the user step-by-step through what is really happening when they buy cryptocurrencies. I learned the basics of cryptocurrency well enough to communicate to the absolute beginner what was going on, both in words and proposed interactive elements.

Paper wireframes: After completing a brainstorming exercise, I decided to explore personalization; in other words, allowing the user to set how much assistance they needed with understanding cryptocurrencies. My first attempt at a paper wireframe looked like this:

This design did NOT meet the needs of users. After going back and interviewing four of the original interviewees, I learned that it felt annoying for the landing page to be either a self-assessment/quiz, with no direct access to the action the users actually wanted to take. Users wanted to progress toward their goal without having to do one of those actions first.

Digital Wireframes: I decided to remove this kind of customization for the digital wireframes, and decided on a format that paired action with explanation without the need to delay progress toward the user’s goals in order to accomplish that.

Low-fidelity prototype: The low-fidelity prototype allows the user to buy Bitcoin, and in the process learn about private keys and public keys, the blockchain, and a number of other cryptocurrency topics.

View the Safis Cryptocurrency Exchange virtual tour low-fidelity prototype.

Usability studies: I conducted two rounds of usability studies. During the first round, I discovered that users did not like or need the personalization features I originally included. In the second round, users told me a number of features that they wanted to see, and I included several of them in the hi-fi prototype.

Round 1 findings:

1. Users did not want to take a quiz to determine their ‘level’

2. Users expressed that they didn’t understand how to choose between different currencies—they didn’t understand why one would be better than another

3. Users did not know how navigate to buy cryptocurrency

4. Users felt frustrated at the design, because it was not task-centric

Round 2 findings:

1. Users wanted more currency choices—at least between Bitcoin and Ether

2. Users wanted to be able to place limit orders as well as market orders in the exchange

3. Users wanted a “wiki” format within the explanations, but to not be removed from the page where they were completing a task

Refining the design

To address the user need to understand how currencies compared to one another, I designed a graph that would take input from the markets and show how different currencies compared to one another along two axes: stability and growth.

The user is able to use this graph in addition to a more traditional comparison screen with line graphs. Below each of those screens are a list of currencies, where the user can tap to learn more about a particular one, and read its value proposition.

Users were also annoyed that it took too long to get past the educational section of the site and on to the task completion section. Originally, the website was designed to educate first, and perform the task of starting a cryptocurrency wallet and facilitating currency exchange afterwards. 

Users did not like that set up, so the design was changed to allow for both at the same time. In the high fidelity prototype, users are free to ignore the “What’s going on here” section if it does not meet their needs.

Users were also annoyed that in the cryptocurrency exchange, they felt that there was not enough of a confirmation that they had successfully traded the currency. I made sure to add a success pop up with several options for what to do next.

The completed high-fidelity prototype included the sequential flow of setting up a Bitcoin wallet, with a beginner-friendly accompanying explanation. It also includes an overall money tool, and a creative way to look at different currencies that answers many questions that beginners have.

Accessibility Considerations:

1. The inspiration for this app was breaking accessibility barriers for people who are interested in crypto but who feel overwhelmed by how confusing this new type of currency is. It is meant to take users step-by-step through both concepts and tasks.

2. Onboarding is sequential after sign in, limiting how much a user can get lost in the process of learning and buying cryptocurrency.

3. Outside of the initial tutorial, I made an effort to include explanations where they might be needed; for example, when the user initiates a trade, they have the opportunity to choose the speed of the transaction, which leads to a key concept of Bitcoin mining.

Impact: This website was created from responses that I heard over and over again in the initial interviews that I conducted; that cryptocurrency is too difficult to understand, and that users didn’t feel safe or knowledgeable enough to engage with it. Its aim is to make a variety of cryptocurrencies accessible by offering side-by-side explanations of how cryptocurrency works.

What I learned: I learned an incredible amount about cryptocurrencies while creating this website, and how to condense and present that information in an accessible way. I can explain what a blockchain is and how it functions, which would allow me to work with de-fi companies and other technical fields.

Next steps:

1. Complete the exchange by adding limit orders, and call and put orders. This was a struggle for me because cryptocurrency is designed as a decentralized currency, but those features are hallmarks of a centralized exchange.

2. Conduct more user research to determine if the pain points have been adequately addressed.

3. Expand the introduction by adding the option to begin by learning Ether and the Ethereum blockchain instead.

4. Partner with cryptocurrency experts to make the comparative cryptocurrency graph functional and useful, so that I can know how well a currency is doing compared to others over time.

Let’s connect!

Thank you for reviewing my work on the Safis Cryptocurrency Exchange responsive website. If you’d like to work together, email me at pollard.cyn@gmail.com

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