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Product Thinking

Why Bitcoin Needs Better Product Thinking

Taninwat Kaewpankan
2025-12-18
6 min read

I love Bitcoin. I've spent hours reading about it, building projects around it, and thinking about how it could change the world. But here's the thing — most Bitcoin products are hard to use.

And that's a product problem, not a technology problem.

The UX Problem with Bitcoin

Bitcoin itself works. The technology is solid. Transactions happen, the network is secure, and the math holds up. But when you try to use Bitcoin as a regular person, you hit walls:

  • Confusing numbers. One Bitcoin is worth tens of thousands of dollars. So you end up buying 0.00042 BTC. That number means nothing to most people.
  • Scary addresses. Sending Bitcoin means copying a long string of letters and numbers. One mistake and your money is gone forever.
  • Overwhelming information. Most Bitcoin apps show too much data. Charts, order books, fee estimators — it's built for traders, not normal users.

A Product Manager's Perspective

When I built Satoshi Standard, I tried to solve one small part of this problem: making Bitcoin amounts feel understandable.

Instead of showing 0.00042 BTC, I show prices in Satoshis — the smallest unit of Bitcoin. So instead of "0.00042 BTC," you see "42,000 sats." It's still the same amount, but it feels like real money.

This is a simple product decision. But it changes how people think about Bitcoin.

What Bitcoin Products Get Wrong

From a PM perspective, I think many Bitcoin products make the same mistakes:

1. They assume users understand the technology

Most people don't know what a "block" or a "hash" is. And they shouldn't have to. Good products hide complexity and show only what matters.

2. They copy traditional finance UX

Many crypto apps look like stock trading platforms. But most Bitcoin users aren't day traders. They just want to save money or send payments.

3. They don't think about emotions

Money is emotional. People feel scared when they think they might lose it. Bitcoin products often ignore this fear instead of addressing it through better design.

What Would Better Bitcoin Products Look Like?

If I were building a Bitcoin product from scratch, I'd focus on:

  • Simpler onboarding. No seed phrases on day one. Let users start with small amounts and learn gradually.
  • Familiar mental models. Use language people already understand. "Wallet" is good. "UTXO" is not.
  • Progress and feedback. Show people how their savings are growing. Make the experience feel rewarding.

The Opportunity for Product People

Bitcoin is still early. Most products are built by engineers for engineers. There's a huge opportunity for product-minded people to come in and make things simpler.

The best technology doesn't always win. The best experience wins. And right now, Bitcoin's experience needs work.

That's why I think product people — not just developers — should be paying attention to this space.