FOLKS FINANCE xAPP
Problem: Our decentralized lending platforms offer limited liquidity and accessibility.
Solution: Enabling cross-chain lending protocols and decentralized account creation for seamless assets transfers.
Link: xapp.folks.finance
A cross-chain lending protocol was an innovative idea even for the crypto space. Being given the responsibility to lead the UX process, I got upon a task to redefine how decentralized finance is approached. The early talks focused on the restrictions of the existing Algorand-based platform and the necessity to broaden its scope across multiple blockchain networks. There was a need to enhance the platform's outreach so that more individuals could benefit from the opportunities of decentralized finance. My role was to craft an intuitive, yet powerful web app that would connect diverse arrays of users to this financial ecosystem. This endeavor promised to be quite challenging yet profoundly rewarding if successful. The possibilities seemed endless, and I was eager to get started on bringing such a vision to life.
Exploration and Research
In order to establish a foundation for the project, extensive research was performed exploring the mechanics of crypto lending and the desires of prospective users. Valuable understandings were gained regarding user anticipations and trouble areas within the decentralized finance industry. At the same time, competitive analysis gave us a more extensive understanding of industry patterns and developing innovations in cross-chain transactions. While the research illuminated user preferences and pain points, as well as emerging trends, it was only the first step to address interoperability challenges and provide a highly customizable lending experience.
Overcoming Roadblocks
After all the research made there was one big issue that stood out: accounts creations. People are used to entering an email and a password in order to create an account on a web app. But this could not be the case with xLending because of its anonymous and decentralized nature. So our idea was to have visitors use their crypto wallet as the way to sign in. But here came the main problem: one account was supposed to support multiple addresses and networks, and technically there were 5 different operations, on different crypto wallets, that the users would have to take in order just to change the network or address used by their xLending account.
And this is where we reinvented how you use a decentralized app: we store connected address's credentials locally on the user's device and use them to automatically sign connection requests, so the user only has to sign the request on the new address. This new flow reduced the cross-chain process from 5 screens to just 1.
Design Ideation
As we explored the details of facilitating loans across blockchain networks, prioritizing an intuitive user experience served as our North Star in determining the best path ahead. With the main emphasis on ease of use, functionality and comprehensibility, I designed an interface that met the new conventions of unconventional finance. Through repeated conceptualizing, modeling and testing early versions, I aimed to simplify intricate mechanisms into lucid solutions, guaranteeing users could utilize the platform with assurance and simplicity. Every individual feature and aspect was developed to boost user involvement and enable seamless dealings across distributed ledger systems. While experimenting with cross-chain lending presented complex challenges, a focus on crafting a renewed experience for our userbase helped illuminate a way forward into the accessibility of decentralized finance.
Technical Collaboration
Planning ideas meant working with developers closely. This helped join ideas and tech steps together. We held talks often to check what could be done and tackle tech limits. This way, both design and tech teams could support each other. Working on getting systems to link up and explore ways to boost working together and ease for users was challenging, yet fun process.
Future Development
In the project development, the special moment was about depositing and borrowing ideas. The project was serious about new ways to let the users trade assets easily in different blockchain networks. After many designs and tests, we improved upon this feature. We made it to be easy-to-use and yet it opened new chances in decentralized finance.
Anticipation and Future Prospects
Our internal crypto community is buzzing for the approach of xLending public release. We've been hard at work building a platform that we believe is going to change decentralized lending. The cross-chain protocols and user-centric principles make us positive that xLending can solve major issues in the industry, as it will engender more chances for liquidity and access. We can hardly wait for the launch, and to see how the platform will enable users around the globe to make the most of their crypto assets over a variety of networks.
