🔏 1RPC - One-click RPCs for Web3
📋 TL;DR
1RPC is a one-click privacy layer that protects Web3 wallets every time they connect to a network. As the sole product designer, I turned a brand-new security category into a single-tap flow, going from concept to 36 desktop and 38 mobile screens in 3 weeks, while running constant validation sessions with the dev team. It launched with 20+ networks, has since grown to 62+, and now serves 5M+ monthly users across 40B+ relays.
🎯 The problem
Connecting a wallet is how you log in across Web3, and every connection can expose your data to whoever runs the service. The protections that existed were too technical for most people to set up, so they simply went unprotected.
Automata had the technology to fix this: a TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) relay that shields wallet traffic. The challenge was making cutting-edge security usable by anyone, without losing the depth power users expect.
👨💻 Who is it for?
Everyday Web3 explorers, typified by our persona Daniel (32), who loves trying new projects but has been scammed one too many times this year and just wants a safer way to dip his toes in. A smaller group of power users already run their own security setups, and needed a real reason to switch.
🔬 What shaped the approach
No one was offering anything like a privacy-focused RPC service at the time, so there were no competitors to audit. Instead, research focused on how to make complex tools usable by non-experts, leaning on Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think and Rocket Surgery Made Easy. Two principles came out of it:
Hide the machinery.Users shouldn't need to understand RPCs or TEEs to be protected; every technical step that can be abstracted, should be.Simplicity needs trust.Security that "just works" in one click can feel too good to be true, so the product has to earn trust with clear, accessible information.
🔍 Our defined edges:
1. A one-click experience
The Problem: Applying wallet security meant technical steps that most users couldn't, or wouldn't, take. It just wasn't convenient at all.
The Decision: Abstract every technical step away and leave the user one choice: add 1RPC to your wallet, or don't.
The Trade-off: The more the process is hidden, the less the user sees what's protecting them. To build trust, we made sure that even with a single action, users get clear system feedback, shown through interface and wallet prompts.
"I don't want to worry about the high entry barrier that comes with technology, I just want the solution for my problem."
2. Your network, your service
The Problem: A security tool is only as useful as the networks it covers, and every network has its own individual setup and configs.
The Decision: Make every network fit the same one-click pattern, working side-by-side with the backend team to ensure technical feasibility. Each network also got its own SEO-optimized page, so users can land straight on the one they care about.
The Trade-off: Networks vary a lot in complexity, so a single pattern risks breaking on the odd ones. To mitigate those risks, the core flow stays identical for every network, and network-specific details live in extra fields on each network’s page, only where needed.
"The more networks I use that can be covered by this, the better."
3. Trust through information
The Problem: A brand-new security concept with almost no entry barrier asks users to trust it blindly.
The Decision: Build understanding around the product: the landing page explains the service in plain terms, and detailed documentation is linked at key points in the flow.
The Trade-off: More explanation can slow down a one-click product. So the information lives around the flow, on the landing page and docs, rather than inside it, and the click action itself stays clean.
"Since it's security we're talking about, I'd want to know a bit more about the background work so I can really feel safe using this."
4. Tools for power users
The Problem: Power users already had their own security setups and needed a reason to switch.
The Decision: Offer deeper protections, like personal API keys, transaction sanitizers and contract verification.
The Trade-off: Advanced tools could clutter the one-click experience for everyone else. So they live in a separate dashboard, keeping the core flow simple while pros get the depth they want.
"I already have my own measures for security on Web3, so if I'm using this product, it has to have that extra something to convince me."
🎨 Visual system
Minimal and tech-cool, built on darker glassmorphism. Cool dark-blue surfaces with layered white opacity keep the interface calm, with Automata's orange as the highlight color and a small secondary palette that makes infographics pop. Work Sans carries the type, and rounded borders on a card-heavy, bento-style structure keep a security product feeling approachable.
🖥️ Key screens
1. One-click protection
Users pick their network and add the endpoint to their wallet in a single click.
2. All the networks
Starting with 20+ networks, and now reaching 62+ networks, users can find their endpoint and protect their wallet.
3. Info that matters
A landing page and documentation site that explain the service, so users can trust what they're adding.
4. Tools for all levels
A dashboard with easy-to-use advanced features for power users.
5. A focused ecosystem
For users seeking their own specific networks, 1RPC features dozens of network-specific pages, all SEO-optimized, and easily findable on browser searches.
💭 Outcome & reflections
1RPC launched and did exactly what it set out to do: it grew from 20+ to 62+ networks and protected over 40 billion relays for more than 5 million monthly active users.
If I could change something about how this project came to be, it would be spending more time on 1RPC+, the paid tier. Core protection was free, while paid features like transaction sanitizers and contract verification went the extra mile. With more time, I’d have turned the dashboard into a visual picture of that protection, beyond numbers and history tables.
If you're feeling curious, you can check a few selected screens on the Figma window below:
