Why user experience matters when earning yield in DeFi

Most people who have tried to earn yield in decentralized finance (DeFi) have a story. A transaction that failed for no clear reason. Funds stuck on the wrong chain. A pool that looked promising but required up to four separate steps just to enter. These are not rare edge cases. They are, in most cases, interface issues that break the DeFi earning experience of traders.

In a DeFi context, what user experience, or UX actually means is how safely and easily one can carry out certain activities in space. In other words, it means finding a relevant yield opportunity, understanding what pool they are entering, executing without errors, and keeping track of their entries.

A majority of DeFi platforms out there have user experiences designed with “developer to developer” style. Their terminologies are confusing. There are multiple processes and unclear instructions or error messages looking like code exceptions.

This ambiguity is the result of putting security and decentralization first above usability. And so, no matter how objectively worse centralized exchanges are for users where it matters, they still dominate.

If DeFi must grow, UX should be handled with appropriate intentions while keeping usability in mind.

When a cryptocurrency holder stakes or lends their assets in a decentralized finance protocol to earn returns, this is yield earning. In other words, this concept is called liquidity mining.

It is how individuals make passive income from their virtual possessions while providing liquidity for DeFi apps. This provision helps facilitate services and transactions within the DeFi space, which in return pays off with tokens, interests, or other reimbursements.

The whole process sits on blockchain technology to guarantee security and transparency throughout the transactions.

For a crypto holder to earn yield, they must first deposit their virtual currencies into smart contracts on their selected DeFi platforms. The smart contracts then manages the assets and fosters the trading or lending process.

This entire process should be seamless and understandable by users without technical knowledge; which is a feature of a good crypto UI.

Instead of saying “connect your Web3 wallet to explore liquidity pools and stake LP tokens for yield earning opportunities.”

Keep it as simple as “Link your crypto wallet to earn interest.” This approach removes jargon overload.

Rather than throwing around terms like slippage, gas, impermanent loss, etc without any explanation, it’s best to cut down on hidden context.

DeFi platforms boast an “all-in-one-place” dashboard but users end up leaving to Google basic concepts during a transaction. The UX isn’t good then.

Another way a good crypto UI can affect yield earning is simplicity. One problem DeFi has nowadays is the many steps one must follow just to find an opportunity, deposit, trade, and then earn.

Every step could lead to a mistake and most users don’t get to the end of the steps. If DeFi platforms adopt simplicity, users won’t have to stop half-way or leave funds idle.

There should be continuity without ambiguity. Whether it is hunting for yield earning opportunities, tracking yield, rebalancing, or closing positions, a good UX will prevent users from losing context each time they switch.

Jumper is not posing as a “holy grail” to poor crypto UI. However, it boasts a well-designed DeFi earning interface that presents opportunities relevant to what the user already holds, not a generic list sorted by APY.

Its personalized yield discovery feed deals with the information problem directly. Rather than presenting every available pool, it reads each user’s wallet context - current holdings, idle assets, preferred chains - and presents what is most relevant to them.

Jumper Earn uses its Zap mechanic to collapse the ambiguous steps required in searching for yield opportunities, depositing, and taking an entry. Then with the Jumper Portfolio, users can get a unified view of every deployed position across chains, thanks to simplicity. You don’t have to switch platforms to rebalance, compound, or exit a position.

Without a doubt, a cleaner crypto interface improves a user’s DeFi earning experience, but it does not eliminate the risks that exist at the protocol level. Bad actors can compromise smart contracts, yield values may fluctuate as well as market conditions. While these are inevitable, a good UX helps users make more informed decisions giving them clearer information, fewer execution hassles, and less friction between intent and action.