Merkle Science: Crypto Compliance and Forensics

Pinpointing Core Usability and Compliance Issues

At the start of the work, the platform already covered transaction monitoring, forensic investigations and compliance training. The interface made those jobs harder to learn and slower to complete than they needed to be.

I began with three questions: who the primary users were, where cryptocurrency-risk analysis was hardest, and how the product could simplify data presentation without hiding critical detail.

I ran a workshop with product, customer support, engineering and marketing to map the platform’s capabilities and the main user problems. Compliance officers were dealing with data overload, while analysts needed complete transaction histories and faster report creation.

Problem Statement

Compliance officers and forensic analysts had to work through dense data and limited customisation while investigating crypto-related risk.

Goals & Success Metrics

1. Dashboard: Reduce the time compliance officers spend sorting and prioritising risk data.
2. Reporting: Make evidence review, investigation history and report creation easier to complete.
3. Product position: Keep the depth analysts expected while giving each role more control over what appeared first.

Competitive Analysis

1. Chainalysis: The review found deep forensic capability alongside a dense interface.
2. Elliptic: The review found a simpler interface with less customisation.
3. Direction: Keep the investigative depth, simplify the main workflows and make behaviour-based monitoring easier to review.

Prototype: Iterative Design for Optimal Usability

I mapped out essential workflows (transaction overview, alert review, case reporting) and focused on clarity of navigation and minimal clutter.

I then added the visual system and representative charts, and tested the information flow with selected compliance officers.

I built interactive Figma prototypes with filters, chart transitions and a reporting flow that let forensic teams attach evidence.

Test & Refine: Validating Usability Gains

We tested and revised the following parts of the prototype:

1. Prototype validation: Checked whether role-specific navigation, filters and investigation history made the core tasks easier to follow.
2. Dashboard customisation: Gave compliance officers control over which risk signals and queues appeared first.
3. Forensic reporting: Connected evidence, transaction history and export preparation in one workflow.

Design direction

I used the research and competitive review to prioritise the next design changes with the team.

The main proposals were:

A customisable dashboard where compliance officers choose the first widgets they see, plus filters for risk score, geography and wallet type.

A forensic toolkit with transaction metadata, visual overlays, timeline views and report templates for investigators and legal teams.

Behaviour-based monitoring would flag anomalous transactions and present suspicious activity in a clearer review queue.

During an internal demo, a compliance officer from a pilot client said, “I finally don’t feel like the data is yelling at me.”

Company adoption and client trials

High-Profile Client Acquisition

Existing clients later recommended Merkle Science to larger crypto exchanges.

The company secured trials with Binance and Crypto.com, plus a live testing session with U.S. government agencies.

Government use: The platform was used in pilot work with federal law enforcement. This case study does not attribute those company outcomes to the interface redesign alone.