Square Crypto Funds Development of Bitcoin UX Research

Square Crypto is bankrolling its 8th designer grant to focus on Bitcoin’s user experience. This marks the Square offshoot’s 20th grant in support of Bitcoin development since it launched in the summer of 2019.

Portuguese software designer Patricia Estevão is Square Crypto’s most recent grant recipient. Per her grant proposal, the UX Designer will use the funding to research Bitcoin user experience, specifically why people use Bitcoin and what hurdles may obstruct their use. 

Estevão has been working on Bitcoin-related design since 2016. One of her more recent and impactful projects is an in-depth paper she published for Lightning Network design in November 2019.

Once concluded, her research will find its way into the Bitcoin Design Guide, an open-source, community project that includes UX/UI design notes for developers, businesses or anyone building on Bitcoin.

The grant is the latest in a deluge of funding that Square Crypto, the Bitcoin-focused arm of Jack Dorsey’s Square, has poured into Bitcoin development over the past year. In addition to funding Bitcoin Core developers including Jon Atack and Lloyd Fournier, Square Crypto has also funded open-source software such as BTCPay Server and Chris Belcher’s CoinSwap design.

Estevão’s grant is the latest in Square Crypto’s design grants, which are focused on improving Bitcoin user experience (UX) and interfaces (UI) – because the bleeding-edge tech Square Crypto and other organizations are funding is only as good as its adoption curve. 

Historically a volunteer act, these grants have made Bitcoin development a full-time job for some, building on a trend that began with early Bitcoin development companies including Blockstream, BitMEX and Chaincode Labs.