Community reach:
8,833
5 years of
Bitcoin Design
Designing Bitcoin For Everyone, With Everyone
2020–2025. Five years. Hundreds of calls. Thousands of contributors. One global design community building Bitcoin UX in public.
At a Glance
This isn't just another tech community. This is proof-of-work.
What We Believe
What drives our community-first approach.
Make
bitcoin's
interface
its best advertisement.
Make magic internet
money feel
magical
Fix the money
Then fix
the UI
Pixel-push the
revolution.
Join bitcoin open-source.
Hyper
Bitcoin
Design
ization
Your UI is
financial
advice.
Bitcoin
doesn't
care how
i looks.
But users do.
Adoption is
1% innovation.
99% user
experience.
Milestones
How we've grown together, year by year.
20
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
Initial announcement
July 2020
First community call
July 2020
First Bitcoin Core App call
August 2020
First newsletter edition
October 2020
FOSDEM talk
February 2021
Bitcoin Icons project
February 2021
Talk at Figma Config
April 2021
Bitcoin Design Guide V1 launch
June 2021
100th call hosted in the community
December 2021
Bitcoin Design Guide V2 launch
February 2022
1st Learning bitcoin & design call
February 2022
BitcoinQR.dev launches
March 2022
1st Summer of Bitcoin design track
May 2022
1st UX research call
June 2022
COSCUP presentation
July 2022
WhenTaproot.org launches
September 2022
Designathon 1
October 2022
500th guide PR
December 2022
Payjoin case study
April 2023
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
May 2023
1st BTC Prague 2023 dev/hack/day design track
June 2023
Bitcoin Design Foundation launched
November 2023
WalletScrutiny case study published
November 2023
1st Foundation grant announced
March 2024
Donation by the Human Rights Foundation
March 2024
500th call hosted in the community
April 2024
Spiral donation to Foundation
May 2024
5th Foundation grant announced
May 2024
bolt12.org redesign goes live
June 2024
Chaincode donation to the foundation
July 2024
Open Design Guide reading club starts
September 2025
Bitcoin Core App 100th Design Call
September 2024
Foundation board announced
October 2024
Saving Satoshi officially launched
December 2024
Africa UX Bootcamp 2024
December 2024
Inheritance Wallet Reference Design
December 2024
Ecash section added to the guide
December 2024
Bitshala grant announced
January 2025
Silent Payments Guide Content
January 2025
South America Bitcoin UX Bootcamp
March 2025
FOSS Backstage talk about Open Design
March 2025
Designathon 2
April 2025
Activist research at Oslo Freedom Forum
May 2025
10th Foundation grant announced
August 2025
Bitcoin Core App V2 preview
July 2025
Presidio Bitcoin Design Week
September 2025
80+ projects touched
Where the community made its marks.
Bitcoin UI Kit
Community Stories
These stories represent many more—each person finding their place in the bitcoin design ecosystem.
Eric
Designer, Sweden
"Over the last few months I’ve had the privilege of being supported by the Bitcoin Design Foundation as one of their grantees. It's not lost on me how incredibly lucky I am to wake up each day and work on Bitcoin products.
The responsibility of delivering high-quality work feels heightened in many ways. There's no boss assigning tasks or deadlines, just a goal. It's entirely up to me to set standards and deliver at a level I feel proud of, which means doing the absolute best I can.
During my grant period I initially set out to write the ecash section of the Bitcoin Design Guide. Over time, I expanded my contributions into several other projects."
The journey
Newcomer → Design contributor → Grant recipient → Community organizer → Ecash champion
Impact
His work has had a major impact on wallet design in the ecash ecosystem.
Yashraj
Designer, Canada
"The past few years have been quite the ride, and in some ways I feel like I'm just getting started! There are several interesting problems to work on. Sometimes the road takes you back to where you've already been, but reveals new and interesting parts of town.
That's what happened to me with payjoin. I did a UX case study on payjoin in 2023, but recently async payjoin has breathed new life into a protocol that failed to gain traction. Liana wallet is a great example of this renewal, who want to help users refresh timelocks with payjoin, and I can't wait to dive head on into this fascinating problem!"
The journey
Newcomer → Guide contributor → Grant recipient → Privacy champion
Impact
The UX of complex privacy protocols is much better understood and on the road to implementation.
Mo
UX Researcher, Netherlands
"Looking back at my journey through the bitcoin ecosystem, it's been quite the evolution from where I started. I began as a curious researcher diving into Bitcoin Core App UX, trying to understand how people actually interact with this technology. The more I dug in, the more I realized we were missing something fundamental - we weren't designing for the people who need bitcoin most. That realization lit a fire under me to become a voice for those users whose stories weren't being heard.
In that first year, working alongside incredible collaborators and we built the research toolkit that would become a foundation for others. The Spiral grant gave me the space to really go deep on this work, and before I knew it, I found myself co-founding the Bitcoin Design Foundation with Christoph and Daniel. Soon after that travelling to Africa and South America, and chasing the dream of having a bitcoin UX designer on every continent. What started as individual research project has somehow grown into a mission to transform how we think about bitcoin design globally. The ecosystem didn't just teach me about bitcoin - it transformed me from someone studying this technology to someone who gets to actively shape how we build it for the people who need it most. Every day I'm reminded how incredibly fortunate I am to do this work and to collaborate with the passionate people who make it all possible."
The journey
Newcomer → Design contributor → Research champion → Community organizer → Foundation administrator
Impact
Her focus and engagement around user research has drawn much attention to the importance of user-centered design in the Bitcoin space.
Michael
Designer, Czech Republic
"I first got to know about the Bitcoin Core App in late 2022, when I came across the Bitcoin Design Community. After some lurking around on their Slack (now Discord), I created a new Figma file and started contributing to the project. At the same time, I took part in the community’s first Designathon. Together with Gene, we worked on a design concept for an inheritance wallet. Surprisingly, we ended up in 1st place.
These two experiences nudged me further to pursue a career in the Bitcoin space. I received a design grant from Spiral, to contribute inheritance-related content to the Bitcoin Design Guide.
The decision to get involved with the Bitcoin Design Community was a turning point for me and I want to see the Bitcoin Core App project succeed."
The journey
Newcomer → Design contributor → Hackathon winner → Grant recipient → Guide contributor → Designer at Trezor
Impact
His design work on inheritance is uniquely useful in the ecosystem.
Collaboration Highlights
Zooming in on some of the unique community efforts that made a big impact.
Bitcoin Design Guide
Comprehensive Design Resource
A complete reference for building bitcoin applications—from basic principles to detailed wallet concepts, technical explanations, and real-world case studies—created collaboratively by the community.
Learn moreAdoption campaigns
Standards & Interoperability
Community-led efforts to promote unified QR codes, Taproot adoption, and BOLT 12 implementation across bitcoin applications for better user experiences.
Education programs
Learning Bitcoin & Design
From online reading clubs to hands-on UX bootcamps spanning Africa, South America, and India through partnerships with Bitshala and Summer of Bitcoin, the community has nurtured a global network of bitcoin designers and developers.
BTC Prague dev/hack/day user track
Community Building
Organized the design track for 3 years in a row at this major bitcoin conference, bringing a UX perspective to developer events and fostering cross-discipline collaboration.
Bitcoin Core App
Reference Implementation UX
A complete redesign of bitcoin's foundational software—from desktop-only to mobile-first, creating public design documentation and making node operation accessible to everyone.
Learn more
Testimonials
Our community creates a lot of buzz. Here’s what people are saying about it.
The original vision for the Bitcoin Design Community and Design Guide remains unchanged: to create best practice guidelines for the unique challenges of Bitcoin product design, and to empower builders... more
Steve Lee, Spiral
In 2020, a fire was lit. Few were talking about design and user experience in bitcoin, yet a transformative technology demanded a compelling narrative for interaction—one that invites everyone, not ju... more
Johns Beharry, Peak Shift
Bitcoin's technological brilliance is undeniable, but its complexity has kept it within technical circles. Thank you to the design community for their crucial role in bringing this innovation to broad... more
Adam Jonas, Chaincode
The Bitcoin Design Community represents a paradigm shift in decentralized user interface optimization. Our machine learning models indicate a 347.2% improvement in user satisfaction metrics across all... more
Definitely Not a Robot, Human Company
Global Reach
We respect privacy, so we are not sure where everyone in the community is from. But here’s some data we gathered from Substack, YouTube and Umami analytics.
Behind the Scenes
Our approach to building bitcoin design tools and resources reflects the values we want to see in bitcoin: open, decentralized, and accessible to everyone.
A rough illustration of community dynamics.
Learning in Public
We share works-in-progress, failed experiments, and half-formed ideas. This vulnerability has created a culture where people feel safe contributing imperfect work, knowing the community will help refine it rather than judge it.
Intentionality
Good design requires dedicated focus. We coordinate events, provide structure for collaboration, and maintain shared resources—not to control the work, but to amplify what emerges from the community's collective efforts.
Open by Default
Every community call is recorded and public. Design files live in shared repositories. Discussions happen in open Discord channels because we've learned that transparency prevents miscommunication and builds trust faster than private deliberations.
Async-First Collaboration
With contributors across time zones, we've built systems that don't require everyone to be online simultaneously. Yet we've discovered that scheduled design critiques and community calls remain essential—not just for feedback, but for building the relationships that make async work effective.
Inclusive Decision Making
Major community decisions happen through open processes. We document our mistakes and learning publicly. Every voice matters, regardless of experience level, because fresh perspectives consistently challenge our assumptions about bitcoin UX.
The Foundation
The Bitcoin Design Foundation exists to sustain and amplify community efforts.
1
Fundraising
Secures funding from diverse sources to ensure the community's long-term sustainability. Organizations like Spiral, Human Rights Foundation, Chaincode, and BitBox provide support, along with individual contributors who believe in the mission.
2
Grant Distribution
Funds the work that matters most to bitcoin's design future. Grants support contributors working on research, development, education, and community initiatives that advance bitcoin UX for everyone.
3
Coordination
Handles the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the community thriving. The team maintains platforms, organizes events, and provides administrative support, creating the infrastructure that enables great design work to happen.
4
Partnerships
Builds relationships that extend impact beyond the community. Through collaborations with organizations focused on human rights, education, and development, the Foundation ensures design work reaches where it's needed most.
Administrators and board members
What We've Learned
Insights gathered from five years of collaborative bitcoin design.
Chaos
Open Design Works
Transparent collaboration creates trust, not confusion. Public design discussions and shared files produce better outcomes than private agency work.
Elite
Everyone Can Contribute
Design expertise comes from many backgrounds. Our best insights come from developers, researchers, and newcomers, not just traditional designers.
Meetings
Async-First Scales Globally
Real-time calls build relationships and sync work gets things done. Distributed collaboration across time zones requires both scheduled connections and flexible contributions.
Free
Sustainable Funding Enables Focus
Small grants create disproportionate community impact. A few targeted grants have produced the Design Guide, design events, and hundreds of community calls.
Lone Ranger
Collective Knowledge Compounds
Shared research and patterns benefit everyone. Cross-project collaboration accelerates the entire ecosystem instead of duplicating effort.
Hierarchy
Gentle Governance Guides
Light structure enables creativity without control. Clear processes and shared principles let contributors self-organize while maintaining quality.
What's next
Bitcoin is 15 years old and has made amazing strides. And yet there is still so much to do.
Here and now
Growing Our Global Community
We need more designers from around the world shaping bitcoin's future.
Making Research Everyone's Superpower
We're building shared research tools so any bitcoin project can make smart design decisions without expensive studies.
Creating Design That Works Together
We're building shared design patterns and tools so users can easily move between different bitcoin apps instead of relearning everything.
Teaching the Next Generation
Bitcoin needs designers who understand both good UX and how bitcoin works—we're training them through courses and mentorship.
Building Something That Lasts
We're developing sustainable funding and career paths so talented designers can focus on bitcoin full-time, not just nights and weekends.
Everyone uses bitcoin
The next five years will build on everything we've learned, guided by the same principle that started this community: design bitcoin for everyone, with everyone.
Join Us
If designing for bitcoin interests you, come and join us. The best time to join was five years ago. The second-best time is today. We’re not sure about the third-best.
Chat on DiscordSome things to do:
- Join Discord Discussions
- Explore the Bitcoin Design Guide
- Jump on a Community Call
- Contribute to a Design Review
- Attend an event
- Apply for a Grant
Thank You!
Five years ago, a small group of designers believed that bitcoin's success depended on great UX. That simple belief has become a global community of builders, researchers, educators, and advocates.
Thank you to
- our contributors who've shaped every design review, community call, and guide update.
- our grantees who've turned ideas into real tools that serve real users.
- our partners and countless others who've supported our mission.
- to the projects that've trusted us with design feedback and collaboration.
- every community member who's asked thoughtful questions, shared honest feedback, and helped newcomers find their place.
Bitcoin design is better because of all of you.
The work continues, the community grows, and the mission remains clear: design bitcoin for everyone, with everyone.
Here's to the next five years of building the future of money, together.
xoxo
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