Uncryptoing crypto
How I designed a bitcoin debit card for humans
“No docs, no roadmap, no clarity … we started from zero. Interviewed users to break down crypto complexity into steps. Prototyped until people stopped asking questions and just used it.”
Crypto Meets Reality
(I can't believe it's been 9 years already) Two founders walked into a (bar … I couldn't resist) San Francisco coworking space with a simple question: "Why can't people buy Starbucks with Bitcoin?"
The challenge was great. Design everything from scratch. Branding, card design, website, mobile app, promotional materials. Nine months to take crypto from intimidating nerd money to something your mom could use at the grocery store.
This was zero-to-one product design with no safety net.
Most people saw Bitcoin as digital gold for tech bros and day traders. But these founders saw it differently... what if crypto could be as simple as swiping a debit card? No wallets, no keys, no blockchain anxiety. Just tap and pay.
I was designing the bridge between crypto complexity and human simplicity.
Working partially remote with a two-person founding team meant every design decision mattered immediately. No corporate layers, no committee approvals. Just pure product instinct tested against user reality.
Nine months to make crypto make sense to everyone else.
Crypto Users Don't Want to Think
User research revealed the brutal truth... people wanted crypto benefits without crypto complexity.
"I don't want to manage seventeen different passwords and worry about losing access to my money," said Sarah, a teacher from Oakland. "I just want to spend it like regular money."
That phrase stuck: "I just want to spend it like regular money."
UX research confirmed what we suspected. Wallets, private keys, multi-layer security... it was all too much for normal humans. People understood the value of crypto but couldn't handle the operational overhead. They wanted the future of money without a computer science degree.
The insight was clear: don't teach people crypto. Hide crypto behind familiar experiences.
Traditional crypto companies were building for crypto enthusiasts. We were building for everyone else. The person buying coffee doesn't care about blockchain technology... they care about whether their card works and their money is safe.
Stop trying to educate users about crypto. Start making crypto invisible.
But here's what made this challenging... we couldn't sacrifice security for simplicity. The product had to be bulletproof enough for paranoid crypto holders while being simple enough for your grandmother.
Logged in experience on mobile
Turning Pain in the Ass Into No-Brainer
The solution became obvious when I stopped thinking about crypto and started thinking about coffee.
Instead of building another crypto app, what if we built a normal debit card that happened to use Bitcoin? All the complexity handled on the backend, all the simplicity presented to users.
The New Logic:
Card design that looked and felt like any premium debit card
Mobile app focused on spending, not trading
Branding that felt modern and trustworthy, not tech-bro
Website copy that avoided crypto jargon completely
User flows optimized for purchases, not portfolio management
Mobile app screen exploration
Every design decision prioritized familiarity over innovation. The card felt substantial, the app looked like banking apps people already trusted, the branding communicated security without cryptocurrency complexity.
The positioning was simple: "Spend your crypto like cash."
Initial card mockups
Working in that San Francisco coworking space meant constant iteration with real feedback. Founders testing flows, potential users giving immediate reactions, rapid prototyping based on actual behavior rather than assumptions.
Nine months later: Complete brand identity, physical card design, mobile app, and website ready for launch. Everything optimized to make Bitcoin accessible to anyone comfortable using a normal debit card.
The real victory was making something revolutionary feel completely ordinary.
Mobile onboarding mockup
What I Learned About this Zero-to-One Design
Startup projects won't give you corporate safety nets. But they teach you product thinking that established companies can't... when every design decision directly impacts company survival, you learn what actually matters vs. what's just design theater.
This project proved I could build complete product experiences from nothing.
Brand strategy, physical product design, digital interfaces, user research, positioning... every aspect of bringing a revolutionary financial product to market. Working with a founding team meant understanding business strategy, not just executing design briefs.
That's not just good design. That's complete product leadership.
Design Philosophy: The best new products feel familiar, not foreign. If I can make Bitcoin as simple as buying coffee, I can simplify anything.
“No docs, no roadmap, no clarity … we started from zero. Interviewed users to break down crypto complexity into steps. Prototyped until people stopped asking questions and just used it.”
Crypto Meets Reality
(I can't believe it's been 9 years already) Two founders walked into a (bar … I couldn't resist) San Francisco coworking space with a simple question: "Why can't people buy Starbucks with Bitcoin?"
The challenge was great. Design everything from scratch. Branding, card design, website, mobile app, promotional materials. Nine months to take crypto from intimidating nerd money to something your mom could use at the grocery store.
This was zero-to-one product design with no safety net.
Most people saw Bitcoin as digital gold for tech bros and day traders. But these founders saw it differently... what if crypto could be as simple as swiping a debit card? No wallets, no keys, no blockchain anxiety. Just tap and pay.
I was designing the bridge between crypto complexity and human simplicity.
Working partially remote with a two-person founding team meant every design decision mattered immediately. No corporate layers, no committee approvals. Just pure product instinct tested against user reality.
Nine months to make crypto make sense to everyone else.
Crypto Users Don't Want to Think
User research revealed the brutal truth... people wanted crypto benefits without crypto complexity.
"I don't want to manage seventeen different passwords and worry about losing access to my money," said Sarah, a teacher from Oakland. "I just want to spend it like regular money."
That phrase stuck: "I just want to spend it like regular money."
UX research confirmed what we suspected. Wallets, private keys, multi-layer security... it was all too much for normal humans. People understood the value of crypto but couldn't handle the operational overhead. They wanted the future of money without a computer science degree.
The insight was clear: don't teach people crypto. Hide crypto behind familiar experiences.
Traditional crypto companies were building for crypto enthusiasts. We were building for everyone else. The person buying coffee doesn't care about blockchain technology... they care about whether their card works and their money is safe.
Stop trying to educate users about crypto. Start making crypto invisible.
But here's what made this challenging... we couldn't sacrifice security for simplicity. The product had to be bulletproof enough for paranoid crypto holders while being simple enough for your grandmother.
Logged in experience on mobile
Turning Pain in the Ass Into No-Brainer
The solution became obvious when I stopped thinking about crypto and started thinking about coffee.
Instead of building another crypto app, what if we built a normal debit card that happened to use Bitcoin? All the complexity handled on the backend, all the simplicity presented to users.
The New Logic:
Card design that looked and felt like any premium debit card
Mobile app focused on spending, not trading
Branding that felt modern and trustworthy, not tech-bro
Website copy that avoided crypto jargon completely
User flows optimized for purchases, not portfolio management
Mobile app screen exploration
Every design decision prioritized familiarity over innovation. The card felt substantial, the app looked like banking apps people already trusted, the branding communicated security without cryptocurrency complexity.
The positioning was simple: "Spend your crypto like cash."
Initial card mockups
Working in that San Francisco coworking space meant constant iteration with real feedback. Founders testing flows, potential users giving immediate reactions, rapid prototyping based on actual behavior rather than assumptions.
Nine months later: Complete brand identity, physical card design, mobile app, and website ready for launch. Everything optimized to make Bitcoin accessible to anyone comfortable using a normal debit card.
The real victory was making something revolutionary feel completely ordinary.
Mobile onboarding mockup
What I Learned About this Zero-to-One Design
Startup projects won't give you corporate safety nets. But they teach you product thinking that established companies can't... when every design decision directly impacts company survival, you learn what actually matters vs. what's just design theater.
This project proved I could build complete product experiences from nothing.
Brand strategy, physical product design, digital interfaces, user research, positioning... every aspect of bringing a revolutionary financial product to market. Working with a founding team meant understanding business strategy, not just executing design briefs.
That's not just good design. That's complete product leadership.
Design Philosophy: The best new products feel familiar, not foreign. If I can make Bitcoin as simple as buying coffee, I can simplify anything.
“No docs, no roadmap, no clarity … we started from zero. Interviewed users to break down crypto complexity into steps. Prototyped until people stopped asking questions and just used it.”
Crypto Meets Reality
(I can't believe it's been 9 years already) Two founders walked into a (bar … I couldn't resist) San Francisco coworking space with a simple question: "Why can't people buy Starbucks with Bitcoin?"
The challenge was great. Design everything from scratch. Branding, card design, website, mobile app, promotional materials. Nine months to take crypto from intimidating nerd money to something your mom could use at the grocery store.
This was zero-to-one product design with no safety net.
Most people saw Bitcoin as digital gold for tech bros and day traders. But these founders saw it differently... what if crypto could be as simple as swiping a debit card? No wallets, no keys, no blockchain anxiety. Just tap and pay.
I was designing the bridge between crypto complexity and human simplicity.
Working partially remote with a two-person founding team meant every design decision mattered immediately. No corporate layers, no committee approvals. Just pure product instinct tested against user reality.
Nine months to make crypto make sense to everyone else.
Crypto Users Don't Want to Think
User research revealed the brutal truth... people wanted crypto benefits without crypto complexity.
"I don't want to manage seventeen different passwords and worry about losing access to my money," said Sarah, a teacher from Oakland. "I just want to spend it like regular money."
That phrase stuck: "I just want to spend it like regular money."
UX research confirmed what we suspected. Wallets, private keys, multi-layer security... it was all too much for normal humans. People understood the value of crypto but couldn't handle the operational overhead. They wanted the future of money without a computer science degree.
The insight was clear: don't teach people crypto. Hide crypto behind familiar experiences.
Traditional crypto companies were building for crypto enthusiasts. We were building for everyone else. The person buying coffee doesn't care about blockchain technology... they care about whether their card works and their money is safe.
Stop trying to educate users about crypto. Start making crypto invisible.
But here's what made this challenging... we couldn't sacrifice security for simplicity. The product had to be bulletproof enough for paranoid crypto holders while being simple enough for your grandmother.
Logged in experience on mobile
Turning Pain in the Ass Into No-Brainer
The solution became obvious when I stopped thinking about crypto and started thinking about coffee.
Instead of building another crypto app, what if we built a normal debit card that happened to use Bitcoin? All the complexity handled on the backend, all the simplicity presented to users.
The New Logic:
Card design that looked and felt like any premium debit card
Mobile app focused on spending, not trading
Branding that felt modern and trustworthy, not tech-bro
Website copy that avoided crypto jargon completely
User flows optimized for purchases, not portfolio management
Mobile app screen exploration
Every design decision prioritized familiarity over innovation. The card felt substantial, the app looked like banking apps people already trusted, the branding communicated security without cryptocurrency complexity.
The positioning was simple: "Spend your crypto like cash."
Initial card mockups
Working in that San Francisco coworking space meant constant iteration with real feedback. Founders testing flows, potential users giving immediate reactions, rapid prototyping based on actual behavior rather than assumptions.
Nine months later: Complete brand identity, physical card design, mobile app, and website ready for launch. Everything optimized to make Bitcoin accessible to anyone comfortable using a normal debit card.
The real victory was making something revolutionary feel completely ordinary.
Mobile onboarding mockup
What I Learned About this Zero-to-One Design
Startup projects won't give you corporate safety nets. But they teach you product thinking that established companies can't... when every design decision directly impacts company survival, you learn what actually matters vs. what's just design theater.
This project proved I could build complete product experiences from nothing.
Brand strategy, physical product design, digital interfaces, user research, positioning... every aspect of bringing a revolutionary financial product to market. Working with a founding team meant understanding business strategy, not just executing design briefs.
That's not just good design. That's complete product leadership.
Design Philosophy: The best new products feel familiar, not foreign. If I can make Bitcoin as simple as buying coffee, I can simplify anything.
Big results start with a conversation
Let's talk.
This is a spam free zone.