Introducing Guest Mode: Progressive Onboarding Starts Here

Para has helped over 10 million people get started with crypto. Now, as the ecosystems we support prepare to launch new apps across gaming, social, and beyond, the need for easier, more intuitive onboarding is becoming more important than ever.

What if users didn’t have to understand crypto before they started using it?

This question is the heart of Progressive Onboarding - a new initiative we’re spearheading to rethink how people enter crypto. Instead of front-loading wallet setup, Progressive Onboarding flips the funnel: use the product first, understand the wallet later. Our Design Lead, Jonny Howle explored this idea in his talk at EthDenver 2025.

The first act? Guest Mode.

Guest Mode: A Wallet Without the Setup

Crypto apps usually do things backwards. “Create a wallet. Save your seed phrase.” And if the app does give you a wallet, it’s usually embedded and locked to that one experience – siloed and usually disposable.

Guest Mode flips this, instead giving users a working wallet from the moment they open an app, no sign up required. Now, when someone taps Continue as Guest, they instantly get a fully functional temporary wallet that works like the real thing with no extra steps.

Then when users are ready, they can upgrade their guest wallet into a universal embedded wallet by completing setup. This claimed wallet is just as secure and completely portable across apps and ecosystems. Try Guest Mode for yourself.

Here’s how it works:

• Tapping "Continue as Guest" creates a secure wallet stored locally
• That wallet can sign transactions, receive funds, and interact with the app. It’s more robust than a typical burner wallet and won’t vanish on refresh
• When a user’s balance is greater than $0 or they’re ready to setup their account, we prompt them to complete account setup by setting up their passkey or social login. Setup also becomes required before using onramps

Guest Mode is more than a temporary wallet. It’s designed to grow with the user's journey, offering you granular control over when to nudge users to set up a full account as they explore and engage more with your app.

Claiming a wallet is also as simple for us user as setting up a passkey or a social login. Behind the scenes, this triggers a key refresh – new MPC keyshares are generated and the old ones will no longer be valid, adding an extra layer of security. This upgrades the guest wallet into a persistent, secure, and universal Para wallet – keeping the guest account wallet address (as well as all history and assets) intact.

Why It Matters

For developers, Guest Mode removes a major source of friction. More users reach the “aha” moment faster – without churn during onboarding.

For users, Guest Mode is a familiar web2 concept that gets them into the product faster. Wallets and login are there when they're needed, and out of the way when they’re not. And when it’s time to go deeper, upgrading to a full account just takes a few clicks.

Progressive Onboarding lets people get exposed to crypto via granular, highly configurable flows instead of hitting roadblocks and education at the starting line. Guest Mode is where that journey begins.

If you're an existing customer excited about turning on Guest Mode, move to the alpha version of the Para React SDK and enable Guest Mode in the modal. Thank you to early partners like Degen House and Go Knowhere for already building with it! To learn more, check out docs and our demo ✴️