Mobile Brand
June, 2025-2026
Zay Wallet
A self-custody wallet that doesn’t ask people to think like crypto users. Familiar banking on the surface, blockchain infrastructure underneath, without exposing the seam between them.
Most self-custody wallets are built for people who already understand crypto. Banks are built for everyone else. Zay occupies the space between them, but not as a compromise. Its position is that blockchain should be the infrastructure, not the experience.
The user sees a balance in dollars, a Mastercard card, a contact list, and an account statement. Underneath, funds move as USDC on Base, while custody remains with the user.
This relationship became the foundation of Zay’s identity. The banking system is old volcanic rock: cooled, established, and beginning to crack. Crypto is the new lava rising underneath it, gradually reshaping the financial landscape from below. This metaphor informed the name, symbol, colour, motion, and the visual behaviour of the product.
A self-custody wallet that doesn’t ask people to think like crypto users. Familiar banking on the surface, blockchain infrastructure underneath, without exposing the seam between them.
Most self-custody wallets are built for people who already understand crypto. Banks are built for everyone else. Zay occupies the space between them, but not as a compromise. Its position is that blockchain should be the infrastructure, not the experience.
The user sees a balance in dollars, a Mastercard card, a contact list, and an account statement. Underneath, funds move as USDC on Base, while custody remains with the user.
This relationship became the foundation of Zay’s identity. The banking system is old volcanic rock: cooled, established, and beginning to crack. Crypto is the new lava rising underneath it, gradually reshaping the financial landscape from below. This metaphor informed the name, symbol, colour, motion, and the visual behaviour of the product.
The product was built around five principles:
1. Task first, content second
The interface is organised around what people want to do — send, receive, pay. Onboarding begins with action rather than explanation. Information appears only when it becomes relevant. A person should not need to understand blockchain to use a product built on it.
2. Userpic as an identifier
Transaction histories need visual anchors, but people rarely upload profile pictures to financial apps. Without them, every operation begins to look the same. Zay assigns each person a unique generative gradient. It follows them through contact lists, transaction histories, money flows, and confirmation screens—acting as both an identifier and a recognisable part of the product language.
3. Notification banner instead of notification center
People rarely open notification centers in financial products; they expect to find promotions, offers, and other non-essential messages. Zay brings relevant information directly into the context where it matters. Situational banners appear on the home screen, form a stack when several are active, and disappear when they are no longer relevant. There is no separate notification center.
4. Swipe as a learned shortcut
Essential flows remain visible and accessible, while swipe navigation offers a faster path for people who use the product regularly. The gesture is never required. Discovering it creates a small sense of mastery, gradually turning the interface from something the user operates into something they know.
5. Bottom sheets for continuity
Not every step requires a new screen. Bottom sheets are used when an action continues within the same context; a full screen appears only when the user enters a new one. This creates a clear spatial logic: a sheet extends the task already in progress, while a new screen signals a meaningful change of context.