BitGo

Blockchain has kept growing since Satoshi Nakamoto introduced it in 2008, and so has the need to explain how it actually works. BitGo is an e-learning platform that teaches kids, particularly kids between 8 and 12, the basics of Bitcoin and blockchain, and exposes them to financial discipline early. Parents and guardians anywhere in the world can use it with their children.

It has two interfaces. The mobile app is the core product for kids and guardians; the web interface supports it, giving families flexibility across devices and a dashboard for tracking progress.

I led the UX research and was responsible for making sure the product was genuinely functional and friendly, working alongside Lekan Moses on design and illustration. The key goal was to make BitGo engaging and useful: we streamlined onboarding and built features across mobile and web while directing the research.

Simplifying cryptocurrency and blockchain for children takes more than shorter sentences. It takes explanations that are clear, engaging and worth coming back to.

• Interactive learning modules: animations and quizzes that simplify complex concepts.
• Design iterations shaped by users: feedback from kids and parents to improve navigation and visuals.
• Comprehensive parental controls: features for monitoring progress and setting usage limits.

With consent from their parents, we interviewed 5 children between the ages of 8 and 12 to understand their needs and motivations around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Three insights shaped the product:

• Learning sticks when it’s interactive: gamification, and storytelling with relatable examples, make concepts like blockchain much easier to grasp.
• Parents want to be part of it: tools for monitoring progress, starting conversations and taking part in their child’s financial education.
• The experience has to be consistent across mobile and web and accessible to both children and guardians, with the web handling extras like dashboard tracking.

We worked in an agile way, developing MVPs that were each more refined than the last. Phase one focused on onboarding; phase two on the learning experience itself.

Moving fast let us put clickable prototypes in front of volunteer customers early. Those sessions helped us validate the assumptions behind the service design and adjust the UI and experience based on what we saw.

To build an educational platform that could scale, we looked hard at the essential information kids need, and how to deliver it while they’re still in the curious, exploring phase of learning. The answer was to answer questions inside the interface itself, so clarity comes during the learning session rather than after it.

BitGo was never meant to be a regular, boring education app. Friendly UX writing, illustrations and colour make the courses feel like something to play with. The home screen is a quick way back into your learning, right where you stopped.

Each learning module comes with its own colours and illustrations, so moving from “Introduction to Money” to “Getting to Know Cryptocurrency” feels like a new chapter rather than another list item.

Kids love a reward system, and they’re far more motivated when something comes at the end. On BitGo, as kids learn, save and invest, they’re rewarded with Satoshis.

Each module ends with its own quiz to help the lessons stick. Right or wrong, the reward screen always offers a clear next step: start the next lesson, or take this one again.

We also added a Bitcoin piggy bank, where children can spend their virtual Bitcoin and watch it grow over time, on toys and games, books, clothes or technology.

Streaks reward kids for learning every day, earning more virtual Satoshis the longer they keep going.

BitGo showed me how much interactive, visually appealing content and parental involvement matter in children’s financial education. Gamification and storytelling made blockchain concepts approachable, and bringing families into the experience opened the door to real conversations at home.

The biggest lessons were to design from what users actually need, to keep the experience consistent across platforms, and to keep iterating. It also showed me that technology really can make financial literacy accessible to a whole generation.