The Nightmarish State of Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The Problem

Cryptocurrency is still in its infancy with many users struggling to understand it, let alone how to purchase it. The idea is that you purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum from a large exchange (Coinbase), transfer it to another exchange, and then you can trade those currencies for any of the thousands of other currencies and tokens that exist. The problem is that you have to deal with complicated exchanges to make that happen.

Examples of the exchanges that are popular today:

Thoughts

Notice anything particular about the three above examples? If you’re like me, you’re horrified and don’t know what to look at first or what to do. Why can’t this be simpler?

My Solution

• Don’t make me sign in or have an account, all I need is my private key to have access to my funds (ForkDelta does this well).
• Show me my public address I’m using.
• Let me know if my wallet is unlocked or locked.
• Bucket all of the information into three different categories based on what I want to do. I don’t want/need to see all of it at once.
• Show me the coins currently in my wallet and in the exchange.
• Make every action I’m doing simple and obvious. Keep me focused on one task at a time.

Feedback

What do you think of my simple solution for a crpytocurrency exchange? Would you use it? Anything you would change or improve? Comment below, email me at hi@andyphil.com, or tweet me at @uxandyphil. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!