behavioural research
Behavioural Research for Crypto Onboarding Flows
Remote behavioural studies on wallet setup, KYC, and first-deposit journeys. We capture voice, clicks, and facial expression in parallel, then deliver human-confirmed reports your product and compliance teams can act on.
Onboarding under the FCA financial promotions regime
The Financial Conduct Authority sets the perimeter for cryptoasset promotions in the UK. Firms communicating qualifying cryptoasset promotions to UK consumers fall inside the regime set out in FCA Policy Statement PS23/6, which sits alongside the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 financial promotion order. The regime is specific: it covers promotions and the journey steps tied to them, not every aspect of a crypto product.
Most crypto trading activity itself remains outside the FCA Consumer Duty perimeter, since spot crypto trading is not a regulated activity in the UK. That means onboarding flows for non-FCA-authorised firms sit in a partially regulated space: the promotion, the risk warning, the cooling-off period, and the appropriateness assessment are in scope, while the wider product may not be. Teams need to know which screen falls under which rule.
Behavioural research is how you generate evidence that the in-scope steps actually work for real users. A mandated risk warning that users skim past, an appropriateness questionnaire users guess through, or a cooling-off interstitial users do not understand are compliance risks and conversion risks at once. Reading the policy statement tells you what to build. Watching neurodivergent testers move through it tells you whether it lands.
From 8 October 2023, firms communicating financial promotions of qualifying cryptoassets to UK consumers must be FCA-authorised or have promotions approved, with mandated risk warnings, a 24-hour cooling-off period for first-time investors, and a personalised risk assessment
For crypto onboarding specifically, PS23/6 turns several screens into regulated artefacts rather than UX choices. The risk warning wording, the 24-hour cooling-off period for first-time investors, and the personalised risk assessment are not surfaces a product team can iterate on freely. They have to be present, prominent, and understood. That is precisely where behavioural research earns its place: a risk warning that satisfies the rule on paper but is skimmed past by first-time investors, or an appropriateness assessment that users pattern-match through without genuine comprehension, creates regulatory exposure and poor conversion at the same time. Watching neurodivergent testers attempt these steps reveals whether the mandated friction is doing the job the FCA intended, or whether it has become decorative.
Our approach
Map the regulated steps
We segment the onboarding flow into promotion surfaces, risk warning screens, the 24-hour cooling-off interstitial, the appropriateness assessment, and KYC. Each is tested as a discrete behavioural unit.
Three-stream capture on first-time investors
Voice think-aloud, interaction signals including rage clicks and dead clicks, and on-device facial expression analysis run in parallel as testers complete wallet creation, seed phrase capture, and first deposit.
Human-confirmed reporting
AI correlates the three streams to surface friction moments. A researcher reviews every finding before delivery, so what reaches your team is evidence, not a model guess.
What you receive
- Step-by-step friction map across promotion, risk warning, cooling-off, appropriateness, KYC, wallet setup, and first deposit
- Annotated session clips showing where testers hesitate, guess, or abandon, with timestamps tied to specific screens
- Comprehension findings on the FCA-mandated risk warning wording and the personalised risk assessment questions
- Neurodivergent usability findings covering ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and low vision testers across the same flow
- Prioritised recommendations distinguishing in-scope regulated screens from wider product UX
Frequently asked
- Does this replace a compliance review of our onboarding?
- No. Our reports are behavioural evidence, not legal opinion. They show how real users behave on your in-scope screens. Your compliance counsel and the FCA-authorised approver of your promotion remain the authority on whether the journey meets PS23/6.
- We are not FCA-authorised. Can we still use this?
- Yes. Many firms route promotions through an FCA-authorised approver. Behavioural testing is useful whether you are authorised, registered under the money laundering regulations, or relying on an approver. The research is about whether your users understand what they are agreeing to.
- How do you test the 24-hour cooling-off period?
- We run multi-session studies. Testers encounter the cooling-off interstitial in session one and return after the period to complete the journey. We capture what they remember, what they reread, and where comprehension of the risk warning has decayed.
- Why neurodivergent testers for a crypto flow?
- Testers with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and low vision surface comprehension and attention issues that neurotypical users absorb silently. On dense regulated screens with risk warnings and appropriateness questions, that signal is exactly what you need.
- How long does an engagement take?
- A typical study runs in weeks rather than months. Scoping, panel recruitment, sessions, three-stream analysis, and a human-confirmed report. We scope timelines against your release calendar.
Keep reading
Research hub
Use case
Talk to a behavioural researcher
Tell us about the vertical, the journey, and the evidence you need. We will scope a pilot in days, not weeks.