Crypto wallets must feel as easy as Instagram

If things are going to change in the next 10, 20, or even 30 years, onboarding the next billion users into the digital assets industry means ditching complexity. Crypto wallets are often perceived as cryptic puzzles that users must decipher before they can see a clear use case or a single transaction.

Consider how Instagram became so successful; it wasn’t because users understood the technology behind social media apps, but rather because the interface felt fast, intuitive, and rewarding from the very first tap. The same applies to fintech giants, ride-sharing apps, and more. Put simply, a crypto wallet must feel as easy as Instagram if mass adoption is to succeed.

Whether it’s juggling seed phrases, comprehending technical concepts like gas fees (think a small service payment made to use a blockchain) and multiple chains, or just setting up a wallet to begin with, the whole process is needlessly complicated. Despite this hurdle for newcomers, mobile crypto wallets soared as high as 36 million active users in Q4 2024. 

That 36 million is just the tip of the iceberg. If global adoption is ever truly going to take place, particularly in regions where financial infrastructure is limited or uneven, crypto wallets need to feel as familiar as the apps people use every single day. 

Users shouldn’t need to read a white paper or understand C++ to simply send and receive money. Crypto needs to meet people where they are, not the other way around. 

Why getting started still feels so hard

Let’s put it plainly: the crypto wallet onboarding process for new users has historically been intimidating. Users have to download an application, manage an arsenal of seed phrases (backup codes that let you access your wallet in case you lose access), pay gas fees (if they know what they even are), and often then wade through a sea of jargon and terms like ‘scan_wallet’. Features wherein fees can be paid in tokens users already hold can smooth frictions without requiring deep technical knowledge.

This is not how you spark curiosity or encourage experimentation. Instead, it discourages people from engaging with an idea before it ever has the chance to take hold.

To bring crypto to mainstream users, the need for wallet experiences built for non-technical users is vital. Interfaces where the fundamentals lie beneath a gentle and familiar mobile-first design are far easier to understand and use. 

Think of Instagram’s simplicity for a moment. Everything that’s needed is there. There are no servings of technical jargon to overwhelm newcomers, no complicated UX on day one, and certainly no mechanisms that push users away. This is the change that’s needed to overcome the onboarding gap crypto wallets face today, every day. 

The multi-chain headache

Fragmentation is adoption’s archenemy; it separates users from their needs through overly complex interface layouts and a lack of technical and non-technical user-friendly features. 

A recent study shows that 62% of users now juggle at least two wallets, up from 45% in 2024. This is mainly due to poor cross-chain interoperability —  blockchains don’t talk to each other well. Simply put, users are not able to send and trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or Solana (SOL) across networks without stressing which chain they’re on. However, the juggling act of swapping wallets, bridging assets, and managing additional fees feels far from intuitive or smooth for users.

The solution, although seemingly overly technical, addresses all the underlying issues behind the scenes. Through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ‘intelligent companion’ wallets that handle chain switching, curating, preferencing, and elevating security, everything changes.

Users don’t want chains, layers of wallet swapping, and overcomplication; they just want their transactions to work. Nothing more, nothing less. By turning to automation through AI, the confusing and expensive processes that currently break the UX for newcomers can (finally) come to an end.

Security without sacrificing simplicity: “The thumb is the key”

Crypto’s reputation suffers under the headlines about hacks and scams, and the numbers tell a painful and gut-punching story that feels like it never ends for those unfamiliar with the crypto industry and its technology. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than $3.1 billion was lost to smart contract flaws and access control failures. For mainstream users, being forced to back up seed phrases amid this ear-deafening noise is a straight-up deal breaker. 

In the background, biometric authentication, such as fingerprint and facial recognition, has become widespread, already deeply integrated into everyday device use. The global mobile biometrics market is projected to reach nearly $70 billion in 2025.

So why not make the first tap into crypto feel as natural as unlocking a phone? A wallet could simply say, “The thumb is the key.”

Picture this. The wallet app is downloaded, ‘Get started’ is tapped, then a fingerprint is used to unlock it. It’s a clean, friendly screen that guides users through, and the sending, receiving, and exploration process is free from jargon, gas fee overwhelm, and chain headaches.

That’s the experience that feels as intuitive as posting a story on a social media app; it just flows. That’s crypto adoption in action. That’s how blockchain truly enters everyday life, one tap at a time.