Get insight into the people of bitcoin
We believe in transparency and collaboration are key drivers of innovation. That's why we've chosen to publish the user personas created by our design team. Although these personas are based on Coinbits users, you may find that they provide insight about bitcoin users generally.
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Bitcoin Personas
Eric
“Debt is a prison. It takes away your freedom and your choices. I'm not going to let debt control my life. I'm going to learn about Bitcoin and invest in it so that I can one day get out of debt and achieve financial freedom."
Introduction
Eric is a motivated and hopeful individual who is burdened by debt. He grew up in a middle-class family that didn’t talk very much about money. He got into debt after college when he took out student loans to pay for his education. Eric also accumulated credit card debt after he started his first job. He’s been trying to pay off his debt for years, and progress is slow. He has cut back on his expenses, but believes that being smarter with money and investing is something that could accelerate his progress.
Eric discovered bitcoin in 2021 and is excited by its potential to help him achieve financial freedom. The bitcoin influencers he listens to talk about how there is tremendous potential upside in bitcoin’s price, so Eric is always looking for ways to stack sats, even in small amounts, believing that bitcoin’s price appreciation will help him move into his next life stage with more financial security.
Motivations
Pass the tests of adulthood. Eric is still adjusting to adulthood, and when he visits his parents for the holidays, he compares himself to them and has trouble believing he could ever achieve the same level of wealth and independence – owning a home, two cars, and taking vacations. However, he knows it must be possible, since so many others do it, so he reminds himself to be patient and keep grinding.
Improve continuously. Eric seeks personal growth, and sees bitcoin as part of that effort. Other aspects of personal growth that he is pursuing is taking online courses to gain new skills, and cutting down on TV and social media in favor of reading.
Goals
Get married and buy a house. Eric sees some of his friends getting married and making their first real estate purchase. This is a priority for him, and while he doesn’t know how he’ll pay for it without going into more debt, he knows he’ll make it work one way or another. He estimates his wedding will cost $20,000, and his starter home will be about $600,000.
Never use a credit card again. Financial independence is a goal, but Eric knows there are many mountains to climb before he gets there. He has heard from personal finance thought leaders that credit cards are a symbol of debt-driven unnecessary consumption. Although he can’t stop using his card today, he’s excited for the day that he makes his final credit card payment and never has to deal with debt again.
Jobs to be done
Overcome debt. Eric’s debt load means he does not have much disposable income to invest in bitcoin, and that makes him worry that he might miss out on becoming wealthy through bitcoin.
Feel heard and respected. Eric is passionate about bitcoin but when he tries to explain it, he gets blank stares at best, and negative feedback at worst. His family and friends think his interest in bitcoin is at odds with his financial situation, and he is concerned about being misunderstood and judged.
Stack small amounts of sats consistently. Eric doesn’t have a lot of disposable income to spend on bitcoin, so he’s always looking for referrals and sats-back rewards to help build his stack. He’s also interested in DCA but needs the flexibility to tune it regularly so that he can make sure he isn’t causing himself extra stress by not having enough fiat to pay for his obligations.
Jonny
“Bitcoin is pretty apocalypse-proof. It’s immune to the coming and going of the rest of the world that is unrelated to it. No centralized authority or country can affect it by its outward politics.”
Introduction
Since Jonny was promoted to lead his fire department, he’s increasingly seen as a pillar of his community. He’s passionate about self-reliance, and a fervent believer in sound money, which for him includes gold, silver, and bitcoin. For Jonny, sound money is meaningful because it is a way to protect his way of life from encroachment by government and cultural changes. Jonny’s military background taught him how to take calculated risks, and his hobby of reading history books gives him perspective on today’s issues. He is hopeful that his sound money investments will help him ride out the worst of what’s to come.
Jonny was turned on to bitcoin in 2020 when he heard on a podcast that it was like the digital version of gold. He believes that, even though it’s newer than gold, it does have similarities to gold and can serve a similar purpose as gold, but for an internet-connected world. He sees bitcoin as an expression of his values and principles, which are rooted in scripture and the founding documents of the United States.
Motivations
Make wise choices. Jonny is a God fearing man who strives to live in accordance with his religious values. It’s difficult to do that in the modern world without constant vigilance and effort, but he believes that having a solid foundation of principles is important for decision making, and is ultimately the only way to be truly happy.
Be self-reliant. Jonny wants to make sure that his wife and his three children are secure, no matter what. He thinks a lot about how to prepare for any eventuality. Although he doesn’t like the word “prepper” he acknowledges that he is drawn to that lifestyle as both a hobby and a belief system.
Goals
Save for his children's education. Jonny wants to save $50,000 for each of his three children's education. He saves $500 per month in three ESAs. Even though he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in the higher education system, he wants to give his kids the freedom to decide where and what to study.
Homestead on his own land. Jonny and his wife aspire to a homesteading lifestyle. He hopes that when his kids are older he’ll be able to afford a few acres that will allow him to take on projects that will make them self-sufficient and autonomous, and even start their own businesses to help support a self-sustaining community.
Jobs to be done
Learn bitcoin at a deeper level. Jonny understands the ethical arguments in favor of bitcoin, but is less knowledgeable about how the technology works. He knows this is a gap because sometimes he gets questions from friends and family about bitcoin that he cannot answer clearly. He wishes he was as comfortable talking about bitcoin as he is about gold.
Bring bitcoin to his community. Jonny wants his community to see what he sees in bitcoin, but doesn’t want people to think he’s selling them something by pushing it on others. He struggles to find the right way to bring it up.
Make self custody easy. Jonny hasn’t yet taken self custody of his bitcoin, even though he knows it’s the right thing to do. He’s not comfortable with unfamiliar technologies and the learning curve for hardware wallets seems daunting. He bought a Ledger at Best Buy a few months ago, but hasn’t opened the package yet.
Andrew
“Bitcoin is a valuable asset for any investor’s portfolio. It has outperformed traditional assets, such as stocks and bonds over the long term, and I believe it will play a key role in the future of financial services.
Introduction
Andrew has worked in the financial industry for over 20 years. He started his career as an analyst at a bank where he evaluated opportunities and formulated investment strategies. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and has a background in fundamental analysis. He strongly believes that a diversified portfolio mitigates risk, but that the traditional 60/40 allocation is obsolete.
Andrew is passionate about finance and investments, and he is always looking for ways to learn and grow. He is also a strong believer in giving back to the community, and devotes time to his favorite charity as a personal finance mentor. Andrew thinks of himself as being in tune with technological advancements and macroeconomic realities, and believes alternative investment strategies have a place alongside traditional ones in a modern portfolio.
Motivations
Stay ahead of the curve. When it comes to returns on investment, Andrew has experienced the benefits of seeing around corners and anticipating trends. His research on market trends, economic indicators, and regulations are part of his work, but also a hobby.
Leave a legacy. Andrew’s two children recently left for college, and he’s finding that he has more time on his hands that he used to spend on being a father. He’d like to find a mentorship program where he could volunteer to teach finance to young people, since he believes they often don’t learn enough about money.
Goals
Consistently grow returns. Andrew sets goals to outperform market averages and benchmarks. Although he tries to remain realistic about his ability to beat the market, he does think that bitcoin is massively underpriced and this will give him and his clients an edge.
Plan his estate. Andrew considers bitcoin part of the legacy that he will pass down to his children and grandchildren, and he wants to be sure that his bitcoin will be accessible to them, while also remaining securely in his control for as long as he’s around.
Jobs to be done
Access liquidity. Andrew wants to be able to help his grown kids with some big ticket expenses. Although the nominal fiat purchasing power of his bitcoin is quite high, it’s not clear to him how to access it in a way that minimizes risk, tax liability, and interest expense.
Keep his bitcoin safe. Andrew knows that bitcoin is powerful because it is a bearer asset, so custody entails risk. He still wishes his bitcoin could be better protected by more advanced custody services and insurance products.
See the big picture. Andrew wants to see a bird’s eye view of his investments, as well as the investments he manages for others. He wants easily digestible reports and visual data about markets. He’s looking for a comprehensive picture of his wealth so that he knows when he will be able to retire.
Mukhtar
"You have so much corruption and manipulation of money and with bitcoin it's a very honest and transparent way of wealth. And there's not somebody or a group of people making decisions about who and shouldn't get it based on influence.”
Introduction
Mukhtar is always looking for new ways to effect positive change and is not afraid to challenge the status quo. He chose to work in the nonprofit sector after becoming disillusioned with mainstream corporate America. He loves his work, but wishes that other people would see that the community needs more support, and step up and do more, or at least speak out.
Across many topics, Mukhtar is passionate about educating others about the real story – not the one you were probably taught in school. He loves to go down rabbit holes and frequently stays up late reading little known theories about science and history. He’s passionate about bitcoin because he believes it will provide economic opportunities to groups that have historically been held back by an unjust system.
Motivations
Leave a positive impact. Mukhtar’s idea of a great day is coming home feeling like he has helped someone specific, not just in the abstract. He loves receiving positive feedback in an email or call, or hearing about the achievements of people he’s worked with.
Spread understanding. Mukhtar considers himself a good communicator and likes to have face-to-face conversations with interesting people. He has confidence in his track record of opening the minds of people he talks to, and sees the forging of strong relationships as the key to social progress.
Goals
Start a business. Mukhtar is motivated by the idea of building a business that plays an important role in the community. This would help the people he cares about by providing services to them, but also would be an employment opportunity. And if he does it right, it would be more lucrative than non-profit work as well.
Get ahead financially. Mukhtar finds it hard to save for retirement at the same time as paying for the expenses of his family. He knows it’s partly because the system isn’t fair, and partly because of his chosen career path.
Jobs to be done
Separate bitcoin signal from the noise. Sometimes it feels like there’s too much bitcoin content to keep up with, and Mukhtar will periodically catch up on bitcoin podcasts and news, but other times weeks or months go by where he loses track of the latest.
Stop using exchanges. Mukhtar doesn’t want to use platforms that promote gambling on alt-coins. However, even though he believes he could handle self-custody, he already feels comfortable with exchanges and hasn’t been able to prioritize closing his account.
Set up a bitcoin treasury for his non-profit organization. Mukhtar wants his colleagues to experience working with bitcoin firsthand, rather than just listening to him talk about it all the time. He knows bitcoin is mostly for saving right now, but can’t help but think that it’s not that useful unless it can somehow be tied in to business or used to buy things.
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