User personas

1. John, The computer guy

Back-end developer for an e-commerce company.

John is a programmer experienced enough to know his way around Bitcoin. Although not a cryptographer or a cryptocurrency specialist, he has played a bit with things like smart contracts and wallets. He likes being able to have full control of his installations and software preferences and, in some cases, he might even feel more comfortable with a CLI than with a graphic user interface. He has decided to try to follow a tutorial he found online and be one of the first ones to use the Lightning Network.

2. Luke, The Bitcoin enthusiast

Barista in a trendy coffee shop in Lisbon.

Luke has been watching Bitcoin for a few years now and has seen many of its ups and downs. He's a convict Bitcoin supporter. He doesn't know many technical details, but has already used a variety of different wallet apps and is always tuned in what's new. Now, he's eager to try the Lightning Network and experience the "instant coffee buying" but he has no idea of how to use the CLI. So, even though he's willing to be one of the testers and even to risk a small amount of money, he needs a graphic user interface to do it.

3. Jennifer, The mainstream user

Content Marketing manager at a digital agency.

Jennifer got to know Bitcoin at the end of 2017. There was so many news talking about it that she just couldn't ignore it. She has heard a few explanations about what it is, but the only one she could truly relate to was from a comedian that said: "It's everything you don't understand about money combined with everything you don't understand about computers". A friend of hers from work has promised to show her how to download an app to try it out. She wonders "How difficult can it be?", after all, she uses all the new apps she can get her hands on so she believes she's used to new technologies. At this point, she has never heard of Lightning Network.

For the definition of the user personas, the stereotypes considered were those of the expected users of the Lightning Network, not simply of Bitcoin. That's why, for example, there's no persona for the Bitcoin trader character, since he's trading activity is not particularly important in the Lightning context. In that case, his actions will be similar to other types of users, such as John or Luke.