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When FTX collapsed in 2022, it didn’t just vaporize billions of dollars in customer funds; the exchange’s implosion shattered confidence in the centralized architecture of much of the crypto economy. With ongoing court battles into 2025, including plans to return $1.9 billion in disputed claims, it serves as a reminder that trusting middlemen in a trustless ecosystem can be a risky contradiction.

Summary

• self-custody market projected to grow from $1.5B in 2023 to $8.4B by 2032
• users shifting from centralized exchanges to DEXs
• usability remains an industry bottleneck
• smooth fiat-to-crypto on-ramps are essential for trust
• next 100M users require intuitive designs for web3

In the aftermath of FTX’s collapse in 2023, the self-custody market was already worth $1.5 billion and projected to hit $8.4 billion by 2032. This wasn’t just a temporary response to the crisis; it signaled a deeper shift in mindset. Users wanted tools that put them in control.

Many have moved their assets to non-custodial wallets, seeking safety in personal responsibility, where they can hold their own keys and shoulder their own risk.

The numbers behind a behavioral shift

Spot trading volume at the top ten centralized exchanges decreased by 16.3% quarter-on-quarter from $6.5 trillion in Q4 2024 to $5.4 trillion in Q1 2025. Meanwhile, volume on the top 10 DEXs increased by 6.2%, reaching a total of $700.7 billion in Q1 2025, up from $660 billion in Q4 2024, according to CoinGecko. On-chain data clearly shows a growing appetite for self-custody, with long-term holders accumulating over 19,000 Bitcoin each month, according to Glassnode.

This is no longer a panic; according to Chainalysis, the uptick now includes both institutions and retail users shifting to self-custody by choice. They’re seeking control, transparency, and autonomy.

The narrative has shifted from bank runs to a new paradigm where crypto users are designing trust out of the equation. However, as users escape trust-based systems, many encounter barriers, such as design complexity. Self-custody may promise autonomy, yet it can also lead to confusion. If 2022 was the year people awoke to the risks of centralization, 2025 still reveals a usability gap in crypto’s most important tools.

What began as a migration of assets has turned into a stress test for the industry’s design priorities. Many wallets, dApps, and protocols still aren’t ready for the next wave of users now holding their own keys.

What most crypto teams still get wrong about UX

While the shift to self-custody is accelerating, crypto’s front-end lags behind its promise. Despite innovation behind the scenes, most wallets and dApps can seem designed more for insiders than for everyday users.

Recovery processes can be unforgiving. Jargon is rampant, and interfaces can feel like puzzles. A 2024 usability study revealed that users often struggle to perform basic wallet functions due to unclear instructions and unfamiliar design patterns, illustrating a significant disconnect between technical design and real-world comprehension.

Too many DeFi protocols prioritize token mechanics over user flows, treating UX as a cosmetic layer rather than a fundamental design challenge. Additionally, some self-custody tools overly rely on centralized Remote Procedure Call providers or default to cloud backups, undermining users’ sense of control. Despite blockchain’s promise of decentralization, users often still depend on centralized trust anchors like leading infrastructure services, contradicting the fundamental notion of trustless interactions.

UX and on-ramps are crypto’s front door

Ironically, tools with the greatest potential for user empowerment can also be the hardest to use. Ideology isn’t onboarding new users; a clean UX is essential. Winning products don’t just introduce new features; they rethink how crypto should feel. Before users can appreciate great UX, they must first enter the ecosystem, making fiat-to-crypto bridges crucial.

Fiat on-ramps are the entry point to web3, shaping the first impression. If they’re slow, confusing, or require technical knowledge, users may never return. A smooth, compliant on-ramp helps users access crypto and builds trust from the first click. Thus, the infrastructure between traditional finance and digital assets is critical. Successful wallets and dApps often grow not only because of smart features but also due to easy fiat access.

Seamless, KYC-compliant payment rails are essential, allowing users to obtain cryptocurrency via debit/credit cards or services like Apple Pay and Google Pay. This infrastructure lays the foundation for scalable real-world adoption, meeting users in familiar environments before guiding them into self-custody.

MetaMask is progressing with built-in swaps and bridging, minimizing the app-hopping common in DeFi. Wallets like Trust Wallet have embraced intuitive app design, featuring biometric login, in-app swaps, and seamless browser extensions, similar to successful TradFi apps. Having launched in 2017, Trust Wallet’s usability has driven its growth to over 17 million monthly active users and more than 200 million total downloads as of 2025. However, the entry point remains pivotal in defining the user journey.

Decentralization was never binary

If improved UX reduces barriers to self-custody, it also reveals a deeper truth: many users aren’t purely evangelical about decentralization. They want systems that feel safe, clear, and reliable, even if that means accepting trade-offs.

Great UX doesn’t mean oversimplifying crypto. It’s about communicating risk, presenting trust signals, and fostering confidence, even when the backend is complicated. Users shouldn’t have to decode hex strings to verify transactions. Interfaces must clearly unveil risks and intentions, guide users through recovery safely, and provide a sense of control, even if the backend infrastructure is shared. This is the trust design challenge that crypto must still fully embrace.

The next 100 million users

The next 100 million users won’t come for a new chain or protocol but will arrive when wallets are foolproof, dApps communicate in plain language, and safety is inherent in applications. Crypto started as a rebellion against trust, yet for the industry to scale, it must feel trustworthy. This isn’t merely a scalability challenge.

To scale, the industry must acknowledge two realities: people believe in decentralization as an idea but require usability as a prerequisite. The next cycle’s winners won’t be those who are the most permissionless or programmable but the ones who make web3 invisible. This entails building seamless fiat-to-crypto gateways, intuitive self-custody tools, and apps that adapt to users’ current needs.

Read more: The UX-compliance dance: A blueprint for crypto’s success | Opinion

Petr Kozyakov is the co-founder and CEO of Mercuryo, a payments infrastructure platform. With over 10 years of experience in the payments industry, Petr is a tech leader who excels at strategic development and possesses an innate ability to see the big picture: the confluence of micro-trends that are mainstreaming the adoption of crypto payments.