$2B+
In dormant XRP held by US users on the platform
60%
Of those holdings untouched for 12+ months
$100M+
Loan origination target within the first 90 days
Specific figures have been approximated to protect confidential business information.
I lead the end-to-end design of Uphold's embedded lending product, from initial problem framing and partner alignment with Erebor, through the full origination and collateral management experience, to the design system foundations that support future loan products. I'm the sole designer on the initiative, working directly with product, engineering, compliance, and the partner bank.
Uphold was sitting on a quiet opportunity: over $2 billion in XRP held by hundreds of thousands of US customers - nearly 60% of it untouched for over a year. Rather than let those assets sit idle, Uphold launched an embedded lending product in partnership with Erebor, an OCC-chartered bank, enabling customers to borrow USD against their crypto positions without selling. I led the end-to-end product design of the white-label lending experience, from origination flow to real-time collateral monitoring.
Dormant assets, real-world needs
Uphold's US customers were holding over $2 billion in XRP — and doing nothing with it. Nearly 60% of those holdings had been dormant for over a year. The assets weren't being sold, but they also weren't being put to work. The core insight was straightforward: these users didn't want to sell their positions, but many of them had real liquidity needs.
The design challenge
Crypto-collateralized lending was the answer. The challenge was designing a product complex enough to handle real financial risk, LTV ratios, margin calls, liquidation waterfalls, but simple enough to feel approachable inside a consumer wallet app. Complexity had to live in the system, not in the interface.
Making risk legible
Lending against crypto carries real consequences, a significant price drop can trigger a margin call or, at the liquidation threshold of ~80% LTV, automatic collateral sales. The design had to make these risks legible without creating anxiety that would kill conversions. The reduction principle in practice: if we couldn't name the three things a user needs to see at any moment, the design wasn't done.
The origination flow
The loan flow was built around a live LTV calculator that translated abstract ratios into plain-language risk signals. Users could see in real time how much they were borrowing, what their safety buffer was, and how far XRP would need to fall before action was required. Every state, healthy, at risk, margin call, liquidation, was designed to communicate clearly and prompt the right response.
Collateral health at a glance
The collateral dashboard translates continuous 24/7 monitoring into a single glanceable status. At any moment, users see their current LTV, the margin call threshold at ~55%, and exactly how much buffer stands between them and a liquidation event, without needing to understand the mechanics underneath.
White-label, native to Uphold
Because Erebor handles underwriting and Uphold manages the customer relationship, the interface had to feel entirely native to the Uphold wallet, a white-label experience with no visible seam between the two organisations. Every touchpoint, from onboarding to monthly payment reminders, was designed within Uphold's design language.
A design system built to grow
The lending product launched with a competitive fixed APR, a 1-year term, and 24/7 automated collateral monitoring, with a low target liquidation loss rate. The design system built for this initiative was structured to support future loan products and additional collateral types as the platform grows.
First 90 days and beyond
Origination goals were set in the hundreds of millions within the first 90 days, scaling beyond $1B within 12 months. Every design decision, from the disclosure flow to the empty state when no loans are active, was made with this scale in mind from the start.
"I'd been holding XRP for years waiting for the right moment. Now I can put it to work without giving up my position."Beta user, US retail investor