Exploring the Accessibility of Crypto Technologies.

Abstract

Blockchain and crypto-based technologies are a rapidly-growing domain on the cutting edge of web technologies; however, little research has examined their accessibility for users with disabilities. We focused on a specific area of this domain by completing accessibility audits of four major cryptocurrency exchanges and administered a questionnaire to disabled people to understand potential accessibility challenges. Our accessibility audit revealed many severe accessibility violations among each of the major exchange sites. Participants (n = 72, 23 crypto adopters) reported a wide variety of accessibility concerns with cryptocurrency exchanges and using cryptocurrency itself, which presented barriers to access and adoption of these technologies. We discuss the implications for our findings and propose future areas of work in this domain.