Armstrong says Coinbase app user experience needs work

Brian Armstrong candidly highlighted flaws in the exchange’s app, admitting that even the biggest names in the industry have UX challenges to conquer

by Shalini Nagarajan /

August 14, 2023 06:42 am

Nadezda Murmakova/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledged user experience-related challenges on the platform during the Onchain Summer event, a three-week marketing initiative by Coinbase.

Armstrong said the team identified issues related to NFTs, decentralized apps and layer-2s.

“If we face truth, we can get motivated to improve it. These need to be first class experiences, and #OnchainSummer is a great impetus to have every employee feel that pain ourselves and fix it,” he said on Sunday in a post on social media platform X, formally known as Twitter.

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Coinbase staff are testing feature upgrades, he said, and asked users to provide feedback. Armstrong added that the functionality in Coinbase’s wallet is better than the app, but it still requires enhancements.

Coinbase recently unveiled Base, its layer-2 network on the Ethereum mainnet. The launch garnered unusual success, drawing notable volume from DeFi actions and cross-chain bridge transactions. American giant Coca-Cola also revealed its NFT collection on Base.

Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has similarly acknowledged user experience issues when the platform halted USD bank transfers earlier this year.

As crypto platforms continue to mature, they often grapple with user experience (UX) issues. The combined effects of rapid evolution and limitations of the decentralized systems they interact with make these platforms less user-friendly than some web users are accustomed to, limiting broader acceptance.

Chris Ostoich, chief operating officer of Transient Labs, said that the crypto sector has for a long while treated UX as a secondary concern across various platforms. He believes that if Coinbase pioneers improvements, many others will be inspired to follow suit.

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