Simpa Exchange: Powering the dreams of Crypto Merchants

This case study presents the journey of designing a white label crypto exchange platform that enables users (merchants) to create their own branded websites for trading cryptocurrencies. The project aimed to deliver a highly customizable, secure, and user-friendly solution to meet the diverse needs of both platform owners (merchants) and their end users (traders).

Note: This case study has been summarised to capture the key milestones of this project. If you would love to read more and discuss it, please contact me and I'd be glad to walk you through it.

THE PROBLEM

P2P traders face challenges like limited brand exposure due to manual methods and tough competition on exchange platforms. Building crypto exchange websites is costly. Manual transactions are slow. Customers sometimes fail to send cryptocurrency after cash payments.

Project Objective: To design an intuitive, scalable, and secure white-label crypto exchange platform that supports brand customization for merchants and provides a seamless trading experience for end users.

Admin Dashboard for merchants

Customizable front-end for the exchange websites

User interface for end users (traders)

Security features and regulatory compliance

Real-time market analytics and trading tools

We spoke with current traders to gather insights into their trading habits, frustrations with existing platforms, and desired features.

For SIMPA adoption, it must be user-friendly and provide a sense of security. Traders desire services that are fast, easy, and reliable.

Analyzed existing crypto exchange platforms to identify common features, usability issues, and opportunities for differentiation.

Studied regulatory requirements across different regions to ensure compliance.

Based on insights from interview, surveys and market analysis, I led a design thinking session that comprises of all stakeholders to brainstorm various ideas and identified key features for the MVP:

Responsive web design for fast loading on all devices.

Intuitive UI/UX with modern simplicity.

Timely email notifications for merchants and users.

Easy onboarding and setup process

Customizable branding options

Functional admin dashboard

Integration with multiple payment gateways (Bank transfer and Paypal)

Security and compliance featuresPrioritizing features was done in using the impact-effort matrix.

WHAT WE DID

Our target audience consists of two main groups:

First user group (Merchants/Traders) Merchants are individuals or businesses interested in creating and managing their own crypto exchange platforms. They are usually focused on achieving commercial success by providing a robust, user-friendly, and secure trading environment for their customers.

Second user group (End Users)End users are individuals who join the platform to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies. They can range from complete beginners to seasoned traders.

Since this is a white-label product that allows customisations from Merchants, it was important to start with a well defined component library that defines key foundation elements like colour, typography scale, layout grids and essential components.

Robust Component Library for Simpa

As a merchant, I want to easily sign up and create my crypto exchange website, so I can start attracting customers quickly.

As a merchant, I want a comprehensive dashboard to track user activity and transactions, so I can make informed business decisions.

The solution was crafted to offer numerous competitive advantages and feature-rich benefits. Below is the Merchant dashboard, empowering merchants to control, customize, and manage their transactions and customers efficiently.

As a merchant, I want to customize the look and feel of my website, so it reflects my brand identity and attracts more users.

Merchants can effortlessly customise their exchange website during onboarding, with the flexibility to make further edits through the settings page later on.

As an end user, I want an intuitive and responsive trading interface, so I can execute trades quickly and accurately.

Upon visiting a merchant's website, customers encounter a minimal, intuitive, and clean interface that seamlessly guides them through the necessary actions. Moreover, this merchant-customized website is fully mobile-responsive for enhanced accessibility.

As a merchant, I want the admin dashboard to be mobile-responsive, so I can manage my crypto exchange platform on-the-go from my smartphone or tablet.

MORE TO SAY!

This was a huge project interfacing many points. To ensure our designs truly met the needs of merchants and traders, we conducted a series of moderated usability tests. This process allowed us to observe real users interacting with the platform and gather qualitative insights to refine our product.

We selected a diverse group of participants representing our key personas, including fintech entrepreneurs, experienced traders, and new traders.

We conducted session remotely via Google Meet tools to observe user interactions.

Created task scenarios based on typical actions users would perform on the platform, such as setting up a new exchange, customizing branding, placing a trade, and accessing analytics.

We categorised this feedback based on Effort * Impact Matrix and we proceeded to iterating the feedback that fit into the current roadmap while others were scheduled for later.

Enhanced tooltips and guided prompts during onboarding to support new merchants better.

Added more customization options within the admin dashboard, allowing merchants to tweak;

Payment and payout options: previously, users had to select bank payout options based on preference. We introduced a "Select All" button to improve this experience for users.

As I write this case study, the product is still in development. Our approach emphasizes incorporating user feedback at every stage of the process and iterating quickly with a deeply strategic mindset. This methodology positions the product for great success, with detailed outcomes and achievements to be shared in forthcoming case studies.