Robinhood exec admits crypto needs better UI: ‘Crypto was made by...'

Crypto adoption still faces major hurdles due to its technical complexity, but that could change soon, according to Johann Kerbrat, Head of Crypto at Robinhood .

Speaking with Scott Melker on the TheStreet Crypto Roundtable , Kerbrat acknowledged that crypto’s user experience (UX) remains a major obstacle to mainstream adoption.

"Something I say often is that crypto was made by engineers for engineers, and I think we're still at this stage," Kerbrat admitted. While platforms like Robinhood have made buying Bitcoin easier, the transition to Web3 wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) is still complicated for most users.

Bringing crypto to the masses Robinhood has played a crucial role in lowering the barriers to entry for retail investors, allowing them to buy and sell crypto seamlessly. However, Kerbrat believes that deeper participation in DeFi, such as lending, gaming, or using social networks, still requires a steep learning curve.

"Swapping assets I think is getting there now. If you look at our wallet, if you look at some of our competitors, it's very simple," he explained. "But I think when it starts to be around getting a loan on-chain or really going into the participation with social networks or games… we’re still a bit far away."

Kerbrat noted that UI and UX will be critical for driving mass adoption. He pointed to Robinhood’s success in traditional markets, where an intuitive design helped onboard millions of users.

"The lesson that Robinhood has shown… is that UI and UX do matter," he noted. "You also need to really help your customer understand what's going on, and you need to make sure that you help them every step of the way."

Simplifying crypto like the iPhone

Melker suggested that the industry needs to reach a point where crypto’s complexity is completely abstracted away, just like how people use iPhones without understanding the underlying technology.

"No one when they send a text knows what protocol is behind the text message," Kerbrat agreed. "So we need to make sure that we get to that stage in the crypto world."

With better UX and seamless integration, Kerbrat believes crypto will eventually be as simple as using any other financial product — without users ever needing to hear words like "DeFi" or "blockchain bridges."