Simplifying the path to Web3

Tailoring UX for users spanning a wide spectrum of experience levels

Overview

The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet is a self-custody Web3 wallet. This research project explored what good onboarding should look like beyond a conversion lift, to set up users for success in their broader Web3 journey.

Team

My role

User Research, end-to-end

Timeline

3 months, late 2022 to early 2023

Impact

Research scale

400+ users

Mixed-method study with user interviews (4 existing + 4 non-users) and a survey (400 existing + non-users), all Web3 newcomers of under 3 months. Ran end-to-end as sole researcher.

Background

Shipping fast hid a bigger risk

In July to September 2022, a redesign of the Crypto.com DeFi Wallet onboarding streamlined the flow from 8 stages to 5. The conversion rate jumped from 29% to 59%, an unambiguous win on paper. But the simpler flow deferred wallet backup: users could now hold assets without ever seeing or backing up their recovery phrase. That trade-off raised a bigger question about what good Web3 onboarding should actually do.

Crypto.com DeFi Wallet onboarding flow reduced from 8 stages to 5 — The 2022 onboarding redesign reduced the flow from 8 stages to 5.

Problem

Beyond speed, what does good onboarding look like?

Speed alone is not a useful measure of onboarding success. As the industry pushes to onboard billions into Web3, the DeFi Wallet needed to do more than compress time-to-home-screen. It needed to set users up for the complex journey ahead, not just get them to the door faster.

Exploration

Three ways to help users act in time

Informed by the user problem, we came up with three concepts to address it. Each approached acting in time from a different angle.

User Defined Price Alert

Let users set their own target price and get notified when it's reached, either as an exact price or a percentage change from the current one. Best for users with a clear trading plan.

Automated Market Movement Alert

For users without a specific target, notify them when significant price movement happens over a rolling time window. A passive safety net for beginners or coins without enough history to plan around.

Notification Centre

A central place to view all alerts received, so important signals wouldn't be lost to dismissed or disabled push notifications.

Early concept sketches for Price Alert key flow — Early concept sketches for the Price Alert key flow.

Solution

Three alert types, one mental model

The final design delivered three alert types, each tuned for a different user intent, wrapped in a shared onboarding flow and notification surface. Users could pick what matched their trading style.

Onboarding that explains why alerts matter

First-time users were guided through what Price Alert does and why to keep notifications on, reducing the chance of turning them off before seeing the value.

Price Alert onboarding flow with explanatory visuals

Target Price Alert

Users set an exact target price or a percentage change from the current price, then get notified the moment the market hits their number.

Percentage Movement Alert

For users without a target price in mind, define how much percentage movement in a 10-minute window should trigger an alert. Stay close to the market without watching it.

Automated Market Alert

Just by following a coin, users got curated alerts on significant price movements automatically. The passive option for crypto beginners and new project tracking.

Outcomes

Users traded more and stayed closer to the market

After rollout, the Crypto.com Data Team analyzed how users engaged with each alert type and how it affected trading activity. The team also monitored community channels for qualitative feedback.

+~3% lift in total transaction volume across tradable cryptocurrencies on Crypto.com App, driven by Automated Market Alerts (comparing users who enabled the feature vs those who did not).

Customized Price Alerts (Target Price and Percentage Movement) converted to trades at a higher rate than Automated, confirming that user-defined intent was the stronger signal.

Positive community feedback surfaced on the official Crypto.com subreddit, with users highlighting how Price Alert fit into their trading workflow.

Data reports by the Crypto.com Data Team showing conversion comparisons across alert types.

Community feedback from the official Crypto.com subreddit — Community feedback gathered from the official Crypto.com subreddit.

Finally set a target and get pinged. No more refreshing the app.

Paraphrased community sentiment on r/Crypto_com, 2019

Reflections & learnings

What I'd take into the next project

Shipped in 2019, still shipping in 2026. Some decisions held up, others I'd approach differently now.

What worked

Three alert types let users self-select by trading style, confirmed by the conversion data.
Automated Market Alerts drove the ~3% TTV lift.
A clear how-might-we question kept the 2-week sprint focused.

What I'd do differently

Surface notification turn-off controls at the alert level, not buried in Settings.
Test with real Crypto.com users, not internal colleagues.
Invest earlier in prototype fidelity for novel interactions like the measuring-tape input.

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