Design a crypto trading web frontend
Quick Overview
This question evaluates frontend system architecture skills for real-time trading applications, covering framework and tooling choices, state and data layers, WebSocket-driven real-time updates, responsive and accessible UI design, performance optimization, testing, and security; it is in the System Design (frontend) domain.
Coinbase
Feb 23, 2026, 12:00 AM
Software Engineer
Onsite
System Design
5
0
Design the front-end architecture for a retail cryptocurrency trading web app (like a spot exchange).
Assume the product needs these core screens and behaviors:
- Market page : price chart, real-time order book , recent trades, and a place order form (limit/market).
- Portfolio / orders : balances, open orders, order history.
- Auth : login, session management, optional 2FA prompts.
- Real-time updates : order book/trades via WebSocket (or similar).
- Must be responsive , accessible, and handle poor networks gracefully.
Discuss and justify:
- The technology stack (framework, language, build tool, styling, charting, state management).
- The overall frontend system design (routing, page composition, state/data layers, WebSocket layer, caching, error handling).
- The key reusable components you would build (design system + trading-specific components) and how you would implement them.
- How you would ensure performance (rendering, large lists like order book), testability (unit/integration/e2e), and security (XSS/CSRF/token handling).
Solution
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