Week 1: Bitcoin Design Fundamentals

Challenge: Wallet Analysis

Your first challenge is to compare the first-time user experience across different types of Bitcoin wallets. You will install and analyze three different wallets.

Step 1: Select and Install Wallets

Choose one wallet from each category below and install them:

• Category 1: Wallet of Satoshi, Strike
• Category 2: Blue Wallet, Aqua Wallet, Blockstream Green
• Category 3: Phoenix, Padawan, Blink, Zeus, Breez

Step 2: Explore the Wallets

Go through the first-time user experience for each wallet. Focus on:

• Onboarding flow
• Security steps (backup, passphrase, etc.)
• How Bitcoin concepts are introduced
• Noting the difference between the approaches

You do not need to use real Bitcoin — there’s plenty to test and compare even with an empty wallet. If you want to test transactions, you can, but it is optional.

Step 3: Document Your Analysis

1. Create user flows of the onboarding process
2. Take annotated screenshots showing each step
3. Analyze the wallet’s approach to Bitcoin concepts
4. Identify key differences between wallet types and categorize them
5. Provide recommendations for improvement.

Whiteboard tools like Penpot, FigJam, and Miro are great for this challenge.

Guiding Questions for Your Analysis

These questions will help structure your thoughts. You don’t have to answer all of them, but use them as a reference:

1. Onboarding & UX Flow

   • What is the first screen a new user sees?
   • How does the wallet introduce itself? (Branding, messaging, first impression)
   • Are there any confusing steps or friction points?
   • Does the onboarding process assume prior Bitcoin knowledge?

2. Security & Backup

   • How does the wallet handle seed phrases, backups, or security steps?
   • Are security concepts explained clearly, or just enforced?
   • How does it balance security and ease of use?

3. Bitcoin Education & Concept Explanation

   • Does the wallet explain self-custody? If so, how?
   • How does it introduce fees, transactions, and Bitcoin vs. Lightning?
   • Are there tooltips, help sections, or embedded education materials?

Submitting Your Work

Deliverables:

A structured case study with:

• User flows of the onboarding process
• Annotated screenshots
• UX analysis (answering guiding questions)
• Key takeaways and recommendations
• Source files (Figjam, Miro, Google doc or similar)

Evaluation Criteria

Your work will be evaluated based on:

• How thorough is your analysis?
• Did you gather deep insights?
• Is your work well documented?
• How clear is your presentation?