Case Study: Head of Product Design at Xapo Bank

Background on Xapo Bank

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2013 as a cryptocurrency exchange, Xapo Bank has grown into a highly profitable fintech unicorn, supported by renowned investors such as SoftBank, Ribbit, and Index Ventures. With a global workforce of over 500 employees, Xapo operates as a remote-first company while maintaining offices in the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and Hong Kong.

During my time at Xapo, the company was undergoing a critical transformation, including finalizing the sale of its custodial arm to Coinbase. Following this transition, my role became pivotal in repositioning Xapo’s B2C product to appeal to high-net-worth individuals seeking to safeguard their savings from hyperinflation in regions like Brazil, South Africa, and Argentina.

My Responsibilities and Contributions

Building and Managing a Design Team

  • Recruited, onboarded, and managed a diverse team of product designers.

  • Reorganized product and design teams into cross-functional, multidisciplinary squads comprising product designers, product owners, user researchers, QA specialists, and developers.

Driving Feature Innovation

  • Conducted user research to identify key pain points and opportunities for product improvement.

  • Introduced customer-centric features, including:

    • Virtual Cards: Enabled seamless transactions for users.

    • Remittance Transfers: Leveraged stablecoins to facilitate fast, cost-effective transfers.

    • Bitcoin Interest-Bearing Vaults: Provided a secure and innovative savings solution.

  • These enhancements significantly elevated the product offering and strengthened Xapo’s competitive position in the fintech market.

Repositioning Xapo from a crypto exchange to a Bank

  • Led the creation of a new website to reflect Xapo’s evolution into a bank rather than just a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • This strategic rebranding was vital during a turbulent period in the crypto industry, marked by events like the FTX collapse.

Creating a Long-Term Strategy

  • Developed a comprehensive strategy for product, design, and research that addressed:

    • Emerging industry trends.

    • Challenges like product feature architecture and localisation.

Solving Localisation Challenges

  • Identified a critical issue: the global app had become cluttered with region-specific features, diluting the user experience. For example:

    • In Argentina, users could exchange physical USD for BTC in person—a feature irrelevant to users in Europe or India.

  • Designed and implemented a strategy to unify the product offering, balancing localisation needs with a cohesive global user experience.

Improving Team Collaboration and Efficiency

  • Transitioned from individual, discipline-focused designers to embedding product designers in cross-functional squads, fostering collaboration and efficiency.

  • Introduced a comprehensive style guide and component library, which boosted team velocity by 200%.

Enhancing Customer Sentiment

  • Delivered a unified and refined product experience that strengthened trust and usability, improving customer sentiment toward the Xapo brand.

Staying Hands-On with Design

  • Remained actively involved in hands-on design work using Figma.

  • Conducted regular workshops and shared insights with the design team to encourage continuous improvement.

Key Achievements

  • Repositioned Xapo’s brand and product as a secure, innovative bank for high-net-worth individuals.

  • Launched impactful features that enhanced customer retention and satisfaction.

  • Unified the global product architecture, reducing complexity and improving user experience.

  • Increased team velocity by 200% through the introduction of a style guide and component library.

  • Enhanced business efficiency by restructuring teams into cross-functional squads.

  • Fostered a collaborative, innovative design culture while maintaining strategic leadership and hands-on contributions.

Other Experience

  • Wrote and delivered multi-quarter OKRs aligned with the company’s vision and north star metrics.

  • Developed a hiring plan to attract and recruit top-tier product design talent globally.

  • Cultivated a team culture emphasizing collaboration, ambition, and rewarding work experiences.

Conclusion

During my tenure at Xapo Bank, I played an integral role in transforming the company from a cryptocurrency exchange into a globally trusted digital bank. Through strategic leadership, innovative product and design initiatives, and effective team management, I contributed to Xapo’s growth and success as a fintech leader.