Chainflow

Breakpoint 2025: The Hidden Costs of Bad UX

In December 2025, the global Solana community got together for Breakpoint - Solana's annual flagship event. The agenda was packed, and we heard many insightful talks and breaking news announcements from the stage. In this series, we'll recap some of the most interesting talks from Breakpoint 2025.Today we recap the talk by Caitlin Cook, Director of Growth at Moonwalk Fitness, on how poor UX affects adoption. The problem: accountability and poor user experience Accountability is the single biggest hurdle for lasting health and fitness behavior change. Plenty of apps add social features or gamification, but few solve the one thing that actually nudges people to show up every day: meaningful incentives that matter to real users.At the same time, mainstream users expect frictionless sign-up, minimal jargon, and no crypto headaches. When an app tries to be both a consumer product and a blockchain product without reconciling those expectations, user experience breaks down. Hidden costs like transaction fees, network congestion and confusing wallet setups become the reason "normies" drop off.Why financial incentives work where gamification alone often failsSocial motivation and leaderboards give short-term engagement. Financial incentives create tangible stakes. Put money on the line and users feel a stronger pull to meet daily goals. That accountability is what turns "I’ll get to it tomorrow" into consistent movement.But not all financial incentive models are equal. Some past move-to-earn projects inflated rewards with unsustainable token models. The result: early hype, then collapse when rewards dried up.Moonwalk’s approachMoonwalk gamifies fitness by blending social and financial incentives in a scalable way. The core product is intentionally straightforward:Step-based contests: Join a game with a daily step goal and deposit a small amount in a widely held asset (USDC, SOL, or BONK).Win by consistency: Hit the daily step goal every day of the contest to get your deposit back and split a prize pool.Prize pool mechanics: The prize pool grows from partial deposits of players who miss goals. No in-app inflationary token is required.This model avoids the unsustainable reward cycles seen in some prior move-to-earn apps and leverages liquid assets people already hold.Early traction: signs that the product resonatesAfter launching mobile apps, Moonwalk saw promising product-market fit signals:Daily active users: Around 11,000 DAU in early stages.Retention: Nearly half of new players who join a first game go on to join a second.Diverse community: Users from many age groups, geographies, financial situations, and fitness backgrounds.In-person activations: A push toward real-world connection and community-driven fitness.Where mainstream UX and blockchain collidedTo make onboarding accessible, Moonwalk offered mainstream-friendly sign-ins - phone number, email, Apple, Google, while masking blockchain complexity behind the scenes. The app covered transaction fees and managed token accounts for users who did not connect a software wallet.That worked until network effects and volatility hit. As SOL’s price rose and the network experienced congestion, covering transaction priority fees became expensive. At peak usage, the team was subsidizing significant daily costs to keep the “normie” experience smooth.Lessons learned about hidden costsMasking blockchain complexity improves adoption, but creates backend costs that scale with usage and market volatility.Seamless UX must account for unpredictable network behavior and asset price swings.Solution design needs to blend the best elements of traditional consumer UX with blockchain-native security and features.Next-gen infrastructure: blending the best of both worldsMoonwalk is rebuilding infrastructure to resolve UX friction while preserving blockchain advantages. Key changes include:Automated rewards distribution: Streamlines payouts so users don’t wait or worry about manual claims.One-click game signups: Removes friction at the moment of commitment.Free-to-play options: Allows people to experience the product without financial risk, which has shown strong early results.Wallet sign-in for web3 users: Keeps power users happy while still serving mainstream sign-ups.Smart contracts and secured funds: Ensures game deposits are managed securely and transparently during contests.On-ramp treasury management: Uses treasury tools to manage pooled funds and reduce operational exposure to network volatility.Design principles for consumer-friendly blockchain appsBased on this experience, here are practical principles for teams building consumer products that leverage blockchain:Prioritize UX first: Onboarding must be as simple as any mainstream mobile app.Hide complexity where possible: But not at the cost of creating unsustainable backend liabilities.Use liquid, familiar assets: Avoid creating bespoke tokens for basic utility and rewards.Provide optional web3 paths: Let power users connect wallets; let others enjoy one-click, custodial experiences.Automate and secure payouts: Smart contracts and clear treasury rules reduce trust friction and operational overhead.The future: apps, not “crypto apps”Consumer expectations will keep increasing. The winners will be products that merge seamless onboarding with the unique benefits of blockchain—security, programmable money, and composability—without forcing users into messy UX trade-offs.When incentives are designed well and infrastructure is built to scale, a simple idea—putting a small amount of money on the line for daily movement—becomes a powerful tool to improve physical and mental health while building community.Key takeawaysAccountability beats gimmicks: Real stakes drive consistent behavior more reliably than leaderboards alone.Sustainable rewards matter: Use models that scale without relying on inflationary tokens.UX and infrastructure go hand in hand: Masking crypto is helpful, but must be supported by robust backend economics and tooling.The best experience will win: Future apps will simply be judged by how well they solve a real consumer problem.Building for mainstream users means designing with empathy for their expectations while keeping the advantages of blockchain intact. That balance is the next frontier for health, fitness, and any product that benefits from real-world accountability.Watch the full talk: