Crypto currently is comparable to the early days of cell phones, Coinbase President says

Crypto needs to be more user-friendly, according to Emilie Choi.

In terms of adoption, products and services, the crypto industry has come a long way since Bitcoin’s launch in 2009. Emilie Choi, Coinbase’s president and chief operating officer, however, still said crypto usage needs to be easier. 

“It’s about, you know, how do we create the most user-friendly experiences for folks,” Choi told Bloomberg in a May 13 interview when asked about any notable uncertainties regarding crypto’s future. She added:

“In many ways, I always kind of take the analogy of like the old mobile phones, right, that had these clunky clunky interfaces. We’re in kind of that phase of crypto, so we have to make it more usable. We have to make it more accessible. We have to have more regulatory certainty for certain folks to get off the sidelines and participate.”

A vast number of solutions exist for people to become involved in the crypto space — from trading apps, to payment facilitators such as BitPay, to asset availability on PayPal. Interacting with crypto assets directly, however, can be a cumbersome task for new folks, depending on how they approach it. Spending crypto assets also remains potentially convoluted when it comes to considering the possible tax implications involved in each transaction.

Choi’s comment brings to mind the days of small-screened flip phones touting little or no internet usability compared to the smart phones of today. Such old-school phones often required texting via a keypad with both numbers and letters. This, contrasting current smart phones with massive screens, internet access and various keyboard functionalities.

“We are seeing so much participation now, we feel like there’s just a great opportunity ahead of us,” Choi added of crypto. Over the past year or so, the crypto industry has gained a growing amount of mainstream interest. Such interest has come in line with significant upside price action from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.