7 Major UX Problems Preventing Crypto from Mass Adoption

Why Poor UX Is Killing Crypto Mass Adoption: 7 Problems You Need to Know

User experience in crypto is among the worst in today's tech world. Even advanced users struggle to understand crypto projects, and it's even harder for regular users. Poor UX is one of the main barriers to mass adoption and represents a significant growth opportunity.

The complexity of the crypto industry poses a significant challenge to mass adoption.

There are several key reasons why UX in crypto is so poor. Solving even part of these issues could make cryptocurrency more appealing.

1. Challenges with Traditional Finance

One of the first challenges for a new user is interacting with the traditional financial system. It's not easy to move funds into the crypto world and even more difficult to withdraw them. The interaction between crypto and traditional platforms is almost non-existent, making the crypto industry feel isolated from the conventional world. As a result, users often don’t see the point of engaging with crypto.

However, it's important to note that many of these issues are tied to the lack of regulation in the industry.

2. Complicated getting started

Even creating a wallet in the crypto world can be challenging for an average user. Everything feels unfamiliar and confusing: you must choose a wallet and memorize a passphrase. The wallet needs to be connected, and there’s constant work with long and complex addresses. This process is much more complicated than simply pressing a button or entering data like an email on a traditional website.

Many potential users may give up at this stage.

3. Complex terminology and poor onboarding

The average user faces unfamiliar and complicated terminology: private keys, public keys, liquidity pools, yield, farming, holding, DeFi, staking, gas fees, etc. These unclear terms make it difficult to navigate.

Poor onboarding doesn't help users understand any of this, leaving them in an environment where they don't know what to do.

As a result, users might leave the platform because they don’t understand it.

4. Countless interactions

DeFi requires constant interaction with the wallet. Even a simple Swap operation can involve at least 3–4 transactions, and more complex protocols need even more. This is time-consuming and increases the risk of mistakes.

There’s no single button to press for a “deposit” or “swap”. Many extra steps are always needed. At the same time, it's not always clear what users are signing or why, as the interface may provide minimal information about the transaction.

This complexity makes crypto inconvenient for users, who may not want to engage with it.

5. Poor Feedback

Users often don't see the result immediately after signing a transaction or completing an action. Waiting for transaction confirmation is unpredictable. A transaction might go through without any clear indication. Users typically need to check explorers or blockchain scanners to understand what happened and if the transaction was successful. This uncertainty can cause worry. Additionally, users often don’t know the exact cost of a transaction, as gas prices are unpredictable and constantly changing. The final cost may end up being much higher than expected.

This creates a sense of insecurity and confusion.

6. Cross-chain interaction

With dozens of active networks, cross-chain communication has become a necessity for users of different protocols. Any transfer between networks may require up to 10 different actions: connecting a wallet, selecting the network, choosing the token, selecting the target network, confirming the transfer, and approving on one network, then confirming on another. Moreover, there may be different versions of networks or tokens. The risk of mistakes is high.

The increasing complexity of infrastructure is confusing and worsens the user experience.

7. Large fragmentation

The variety of protocols and tokens with similar logic makes it difficult to understand and use different platforms. For instance, there are dozens of DEXs or lending platforms, and it’s unclear where to exchange certain tokens. There’s no single platform that offers all the necessary information on possible crypto actions — like buttons for “exchange,” “borrow,” or “deposit.” This makes the process more difficult for users.

Even experienced users can get confused by DeFi, and this problem is likely to grow over time.

Closing thoughts

The crypto industry today looks like a space for tech-savvy users and seems to be in a constant beta phase. This makes it very difficult for the average person. They need to search for information continuously and deal with complex issues. There’s a lack of proper documentation and guides, and users are often afraid of making mistakes.

A new trend in the crypto world should focus on improving user experience. The industry has already reached a sufficient technological level, and there’s no need to further complicate technology. Now, it's important to build user-friendly and easy-to-understand tools for ordinary users based on existing solutions.

Projects that focus on aggregation, network interconnection, chain abstraction, and similar technologies could lead the way in the near future, as they can bridge the gap between the crypto world and the traditional world.