ZASHI

Designing a privacy-first crypto wallet from the ground up

Electric Coin Co. invented Zcash, the first cryptocurrency with real privacy built into it. Years later, actually using that privacy still meant a desktop client. Zashi was the fix: a self-custody, Zcash-only mobile wallet.

Working with ECC's CEO, Zooko, and one of Zcash's inventors, I designed and took the interface through Nielsen Norman's usability heuristics and stress-tested each one against what the chain actually allows. A send is final, there's no account to recover, and a shielded wallet has to scan before it knows what you own — so the interface states and exposes each step plainly instead of hiding them.

From there the work ran through production with the iOS and Android teams, into the icon system, the store screens, the identity usage guide, and the Zashi website. I art directed the launch film, Meet Zashi, and directed the animator.

Zashi launched to a positive response from the Zcash community, with early users responding to its simplicity and ease of use. The first wave of feedback was about what to add next — fiat conversion, biometrics, dark mode, more transaction feedback — not about what was broken.