Designing for the Edges: Bitcoin Accessibility Guide
Core Heuristic
“Designing for the extremes in human variation often improves usability for everyone.”
This guide explores how building for users with disabilities, impairments, or atypical environments can lead to increased global adoption and better Bitcoin experiences for everyone. In Bitcoin applications, where usability is sometimes sacrificed for security or privacy, this heuristic helps create more thoughtful, human-centered interactions.
Why Accessibility Matters for Bitcoin
- Mistakes are costly: Accessible design helps prevent user errors that can lead to irreversible loss of funds
- Usability inspires confidence: Trustless systems gain credibility when all users can navigate them independently and successfully regardless of technical skill or ability
- Complicated UX is a threat vector: Confusing or inaccessible interfaces increase the risk of mishandled keys, insecure backups, or theft of funds
- Accessibile design is resilient design: Tools that work across diverse abilities, devices, and environments are often more robust and reliable in general
- Hal Finney had a disability: Hal was diagnoesd with ALS in 2009 shortly after receiving the first bitcoin transaction and starting to work with Satoshi. Despite his diagnosis, he continued working on the project until his untimely passing in 2014.
“Today, I am essentially paralyzed. I am fed through a tube, and my breathing is assisted through another tube. I operate the computer using a commercial eyetracker system. It also has a speech synthesizer, so this is my voice now. I spend all day in my power wheelchair. I worked up an interface using an arduino so that I can adjust my wheelchair’s position using my eyes.
It has been an adjustment, but my life is not too bad. I can still read, listen to music, and watch TV and movies. I recently discovered that I can even write code. It’s very slow, probably 50 times slower than I was before. But I still love programming and it gives me goals. Currently I’m working on something Mike Hearn suggested, using the security features of modern processors, designed to support “Trusted Computing”, to harden Bitcoin wallets. It’s almost ready to release. I just have to do the documentation.”
“That’s my story. I’m pretty lucky overall. Even with the ALS, my life is very satisfying. But my life expectancy is limited.”
Bitcoin and Me - Hal Finney (2013)
Our Approach
This guide offers practical ways to apply accessibility principles to Bitcoin application design. By focusing on edge cases, people with disabilities, people in resource-constrained environments, or those with limited technical knowledge we can create better experiences for all users. Good interaction design is accessible to a wide range of users in diverse contexts.
Designathon Workshop Schedule
| Title | Time (UTC) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Intro Workshop - Accessibility Resources | Tuesday May 6, 17:00 | Overview |
| Workshop 1: Use Cases + Assistive Tech | Thursday May 15, 13:00 | GAAD |
| Accessibility Office Hours 1 | Thursday May 15, 15:00 | Q&A |
| Workshop 2: Testing & Design Patterns | Thursday May 15, 15:00 | GAAD |
| Accessibility Office Hours 2 | Thursday May 15, 21:00 | Q&A |