Design with Carter

Case Study

Samourai Swaps

A user interface for Bitcoin to Monero atomic swaps.

Overview

The Samourai Wallet team seems to really push the Overton Window in the Bitcoin space. The latest beta release from them is Samourai Swaps, an application that's centered around permissionless swaps between Bitcoin and Monero. Monero is a privacy focused cryptocurrency that can be used as alternative to Bitcoin/P2P digital cash. As a huge advocate for financial privacy, I believe Monero is an amazing tool. When I heard that Samourai was putting together an atomic swap application, I wanted to see if I could create a user-friendly UI that maintains the ethos of their user base.

Approach

I understood the concept of the application, but seeing as I am not a coder/dev, I really didn't understand how this application would work. To bridge this gap, I tried to pull as much data from their Telegram chat as I could. Their channel is full of devoted users that shared their "hopes" for what they would want in the tool. I'm also familiar with another swap service called UnstoppableSwap. As I dove in, I was able to grasp what core features would need to be included in this UI mockup. With so little constraints as to how the UI should look, I had a lot of freedom to play.

Here's a look at the UnstoppableSwap UI. The theme is centered around Monero and utilizes a very simple layout.

Some notes I took along the way.

Ideas

• A Samourai-esque, cypherpunk theme is needed to coincide with their existing branding.

• The backend is complicated, but the frontend doesn't need to be.

• The app should flow the user through the swap process - leaving no room for errors.

• This will be utilized on desktops only.

Questions

• How can the UI reduce friction for users seeking financial privacy?

• Should the UI look similar to Whirlpool or RoninDojo - their other tools?

• With new features being added in the future, how can I create a solid foundation to build upon?

• How can users configure the application?

Result

I utilized Penpot, an open source design tool, to turn my ideas into a working draft. With my ideas and questions in mind, I was able to put together a UI that I believe would be a great point to launch from. There are a lot of improvements I would like to make, but I'm happy with the launchpad that I've created. I found that establishing a userflow was somewhat difficult because there is no room for error in the process.

A huge shoutout to Samourai developer, Noosphere888, who encouraged me to take a stab at this after seeing my Samourai Wallet Redesign samples on X. I really enjoyed designing this tool as I felt I could just run with my ideas.

The swap application is currently in beta and isn't utilizing this design, but I hope to help the Samourai Team with this in the future (If I'm lucky.)

Below you will see a carousel that shows screenshots of the draft that starts with the loading screen and leads you through the swap process.

The swap application is currently in beta and isn't utilizing this design, but I hope to help the Samourai Team with this in the future (If I'm lucky.)

Below you will see a carousel that shows screenshots of the draft that starts with the loading screen and leads you through the swap process.