One of the world's largest crypto platforms
Blockchain.com is a global crypto wallet and exchange that has processed hundreds of billions in transactions. When I joined, the product was scaling rapidly — but the user experience hadn't kept pace. Complex compliance requirements, multi-region regulation, and a user base ranging from first-timers to expert traders created a uniquely demanding design environment.
My role spanned the full product surface: onboarding, KYC identity verification, buy/sell flows, security setup, and the core wallet dashboard.
High stakes, zero margin for error
Designing for a crypto wallet at this scale meant navigating three competing tensions simultaneously — none of which could be compromised.
Compliance vs. Conversion
KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations required collecting identity information, address verification, and government ID before users could buy or sell. Every mandatory step was a potential drop-off point. The design challenge: make compliance feel like protection, not interrogation.
Trust vs. Simplicity
Every transaction was irreversible. Unlike a bank, there's no customer service to call, no chargeback, no undo. Users needed to feel genuinely secure — but security flows (backup phrases, identity verification) could be confusing and anxiety-inducing if handled poorly.
Global vs. Local
The product served 200+ countries, each with different regulations, payment methods, and compliance requirements. Europe needed IBAN/BIC. The US needed SSN and state-level geo-detection. What worked for one region broke in another.
Challenging the brief, not just executing it
Early in the project I documented a series of design questions — pushing back on product and engineering decisions that were adding friction without adding value. This kind of upstream thinking prevented problems before they became shipped mistakes.
Questions raised to reduce funnel drop-off and challenge unnecessary complexity
Designing for the full system, not just the screen
Before any UI was designed, I mapped the complete user journey — including every compliance branch, regional variation, error state, and edge case. These flow diagrams became the source of truth for engineering, legal, and product.
From stranger to verified wallet owner
The onboarding flow had to take a complete stranger through account creation, identity verification, payment setup, and security configuration — while maintaining trust and momentum at every step. Each screen was designed to feel like the next natural step, never an obstacle.
The security setup — backup phrase generation, writing, and verification — was one of the highest-anxiety moments in the flow. Lose your phrase, lose your funds. The design had to communicate that gravity without creating paralysis.
Where the thinking shows
Compliance framed as protection
KYC steps were written and designed to feel like the product looking out for the user — not bureaucratic gate-keeping. "We only need a few things due to regulation requirements" vs. a blank mandatory form.
Deliberate friction at high-risk moments
The backup phrase flow explicitly warned against screenshotting and required a random word verification challenge. Friction placed intentionally at irreversible moments — not removed blindly to improve metrics.
Experience-based journey personalization
The welcome screen asked about crypto experience level and intended trade volume. This wasn't just UX — it set KYC tier expectations early and reduced surprise at later verification requirements.
Regional flow branching built in from day one
US and Europe flows were designed as parallel systems from the start — not as an afterthought. Different payment methods, different ID requirements, different compliance logic — all mapped before a single screen was designed.
Trust by design
Shipped redesigned onboarding, KYC, buy/sell, and security flows across web and mobile for one of the world's most widely used crypto platforms — serving tens of millions of users globally across 200+ countries.
The design approach consistently balanced regulatory compliance with user experience — reducing unnecessary friction while preserving the deliberate friction that protects users from irreversible mistakes. The upstream design questioning process identified and eliminated multiple unnecessary KYC steps before they shipped.