Cutting drop-off 10x at order placement on a crypto exchange
CVEX · Decentralized exchange for crypto and commodity futures and options
Context
With 10,000+ monthly users, CVEX runs two terminals: Pro for experienced traders and Simple for newcomers. I also designed options trading from scratch, the platform's first product beyond futures.
Problem
About 10,000 people used the platform every month, but only around 1,000 of them opened an order.
Company
CVEX (Tacans Group)
My role
Senior Product Designer
Team
Design team of 3, 10+ developers
Platform
Web: Pro and Simple trading terminals
Timeline
Jul 2024 – May 2025
10x
fewer traders lost at order placement (~20% → ~2%, Hotjar)
25+
UX issues found in the Pro terminal audit
150+
Pro screens rebuilt on a new design system
01
Finding where traders stopped
I went through Hotjar data, turned what I saw into hypotheses and ran a UX audit of the Pro terminal: 25+ issues, each with a proposed fix. I redesigned 15+ of them.
One example: position rows lit up on hover but did nothing on click, so traders waited for an action that never came. The most costly problems sat at order placement.
02
Getting traders to open the order
~20% of traders left at order placement (Hotjar). They set leverage and margin but never saw the liquidation price or expected PnL, so they were trading blind. Small, identical buttons made people tap the wrong thing.
I added the liquidation price and a pre-order review with the risk highlighted, enlarged the click areas and gave key actions their own color. After the release, drop-off fell to ~2%.
03
One design system for two terminals
The UI kit lived in scattered files, colors drifted between screens, and text was hard to read in both themes.
I turned it into one design system: 50+ components, 1,100+ variants and one palette with higher contrast. Then I rebuilt 150+ Pro screens on it. Developers stopped inventing new styles: every state and color had its place.
Reflection
What I'd do differently
The terminal tried to show everything at once. Today I'd question every feature first, simplify each flow and add onboarding that explains trading in plain language.