A survey found that more than 50% of users did not know what exactly cryptocurrency wallets were. Thirty percent of those surveyed admitted they had forgotten the password for where they stored their cryptocurrency holdings.

Bitcoin has allowed each user to become their own bank, so each is responsible for their money holdings. A recent survey revealed how more than 1,000 US citizens keep the bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies they buy secure.

The CryptoVantage website used a platform specialized in segmented surveys on a specific population. In this case, the respondents were 1,021 US citizens who own cryptocurrencies.

Which Wallets Americans Use Most

Regarding the wallet that they used the most, those consulted included platforms for buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their answers.

The wallet with the highest number of users was the Coinbase exchange (34.7%), which preceded Robinhood (26.4%). Of course, neither of the two buying and selling platforms is an actual wallet. The list only included wallets such as Atomic Wallet (16.8%), Blockchain (13.7%), Exodus (7.8%), and Jaxx (7.6%).

The main difference between a wallet and an exchange is that the user has power over the private keys with the former. Contrarily, the latter manages and protects private keys, only allowing the user to move the funds.

According to the survey, 70% of the users claimed to safeguard their cryptocurrencies in their wallets. However, the response percentage indicates that this percentage drops to 53.4%, taking into account actual wallets.

The consultation revealed that the size of the investors’ capital amounted to USD 7,245, on average.

Which Wallets Americans Consider the Most Secure

Regarding the most secure platforms, the respondents included in their answers custodial platforms, which do not act as wallets.

According to the survey, cryptocurrency investment platform SoFi (73%) is one of the most secure wallets. It precedes Blockchain, which 72% of those consulted consider a wallet since it allows creating a recovery seed.

This answer included few wallets as such that respondents considered secure. Among them were Atomic Wallet (66%), Jaxx (64%), Electrum (64%), and Exodus (49%). However, no one considered hardware wallets one of the most secure.

The wallets that respondents use the most to manage their bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are mobile and desktop apps. They consider that they maintain an advantage when using online services. Of course, this only indicates where they prefer to handle their cryptocurrencies without specifying the type of wallet.

How Americans Protect Their Passwords

Although there was a question about password security, there was none about recovery seeds. However, the reference can apply to wallets that use security systems with passwords, biometric security, or BIP 39 seeds.

The top methods the respondents mentioned include using a password manager (26.6%) and writing the password down on a piece of paper (18.6%). Many people consider the latter method to be one of the most secure for safeguarding the recovery seeds.

Others said they used a screenshot (10.3%) or shared the password with a friend or relative (6%). Many consider both methods to be very impractical and insecure.

The survey indicated that 39.7% of them have lost or forgotten their passwords. Of this percentage, 95.6% admitted that they could regain access to their funds, most of which relied on recovery services.

Those who use Bitcoin wallets and do not secure their recovery seeds may lose access to them. Besides, they will not be able to recover their funds, as there is no system on the network to recover lost or forgotten seeds.

By Alexander Salazar

Calculations by analyst Rekt Capital indicate that the Golden Cross would arrive in the next few days. The value of Bitcoin has gone up by 50% from its price below USD 29,000 on July 21^st.

A pattern that heralds a pronounced bullish move for Bitcoin (BTC) is about to be fulfilled. The Golden Cross appears on a candlestick chart when the 50-day moving average (MA) crosses upward through the 200-day MA.

Some traders predict that the recent recovery in the price of Bitcoin could cause the 50-day MA to cross through the 200-day MA in the next few days. These moving averages are average values in specific time ranges and vary based on the price movements of BTC.

One of the most prominent analysts who recently mentioned the closeness to this pattern is Twitter user Rekt Capital (@rektcapital). His calculation indicates that the arrival of the Golden Cross will occur in the next few days.

This indicator, used in the technical analysis of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, serves to forecast price movements. Although it comes from traditional markets, it is possible to apply it to other assets.

Rekt Capital believes that the arrival of this pattern would confirm that BTC returned to the bullish trend that it had lost between May and June. Additionally, he said that it would reduce the effect of a bearish pattern that occurred a couple of months ago.

In June, there was a bearish pattern opposite to the one approaching, called the Death Cross. When that pattern occurs, the 500-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average.

According to Rekt Capital, the upcoming Golden Cross will fully confirm an invalidation of the Death Cross occurring in June.

That month, the analyst anticipated the arrival of the Death Cross, which has historically been an omen of a bearish market. However, that cross has previously preceded sharp rises in subsequent months.

The Price of the Pioneering Cryptocurrency Returns to the Bullish Trend

Following the May cryptocurrency market crash, Bitcoin has finally shown signs of recovery in recent weeks. The price of the cryptocurrency exceeded USD 46,000 for the first time in two months.

In the last two months, Bitcoin has recovered 50% of its market value. That increase takes as a reference the lowest point below USD 29,000 on July 21^st.

The price of BTC is far from the all-time high above USD 64,000 that it reached in April. However, estimates from various analysts predict that it will exceed that mark long before the end of 2021.

Renowned analyst Willy Woo and researchers at Bloomberg consider that the value of Bitcoin will exceed USD 100,000. For his part, PlanB argues that the cryptocurrency could comply with what the stock-to-flow model foresees. In other words, he said that it would reach a price of USD 288,000.

The relevance of Bitcoin in the world economy and its recent recovery above USD 46,000 proves that a growing number of people trust it. It is only a matter of time before the pioneering cryptocurrency reaches the levels that market analysts have predicted.

By Willmen Blanco

For the first time since January and February, Bitcoin has been rising for about four weeks in a row. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Dogecoin, and Uniswap have also seen significant gains in recent days.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) exceeded USD 46,000 after breaking the stiff barrier of USD 40,000, which has remained for weeks. The first cryptocurrency on the market had not reached a value above that mark since last May 17^th.

According to TradingView, after touching USD 46,000, the price of BTC went down a little bit. The cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 46,300 and has grown by about 16.1% in the last week, according to Coingecko.

Since the beginning of the crash of May 17^th, the value of BTC lost 50% in a couple of weeks. The price recovery became elusive, managing to exceed USD 40,000 only momentarily.

If the recent trend held, this would be the fourth week in a row with BTC on the rise. Besides, it would be the first time that has happened since the rally between January and mid-February. In that period, the price of the cryptocurrency went from USD 29,000 to USD 58,000.

After three months in the red, the price of Bitcoin has resumed its bullish trend. It rose by 18% between early June and late July and has increased by  10% in August. That reinforces the thesis of various analysts who expected an imminent recovery in the market.

Bloomberg recently predicted that the cryptocurrency could be heading towards USD 100,000 in a new rally.

Ether, Dogecoin, Uniswap, and the Rest of the Altcoins Are on the Rise

As usual, the major altcoins, as usual, have responded positively to the current rise in the price of Bitcoin. The value of the Ethereum cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), recently exceeded USD 3,000.

The cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 3,160 and has gained more than 23% in the last week, according to Coingecko.

Other prominent coins in the last week include Dogecoin (DOGE), the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) currency,  and the Uniswap DeFi token, UNI. Their prices have increased by almost 24%, more than 58%, and 28%, respectively.

New All-Time Highs in the Price of Bitcoin Are on Their Way

The weekly chart for Bitcoin indicates that the forecast is increasingly optimistic. There seems to be no more resistance to the rise in the price of Bitcoin to USD 58,000.

There has been a continued rejection of low prices and a resumption of the medium/long-term trend. Therefore, it is not at all unreasonable to think that new all-time highs will come.

Everything seems to indicate that the upward trend will continue and could go much further in the coming months. Fundamentals encouraging the accumulation of a scarce asset amid a turbulent global economic situation support this vision.

The recent price action of the pioneering cryptocurrency leads many to expect gains, at least in the short term. The data shown above indicate that there is little chance of losing that strong support at USD 30,000.

By Alexander Salazar

The scammers used smart contracts and a supposed DeFi protocol to sell securities without authorization. The SEC ordered them to pay a USD 12.8 million compensation and said they had returned the stolen money.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently initiated legal action against a company based in the Cayman Islands. The reason for the indictment was a scam for more than USD 30 million related to a decentralized finance (DeFi) business. Finally, the criminals agreed with the authorities to pay a fine and compensate their victims.

The company Blockchain Credit Partners promoted the decentralized finance protocol DeFi Money Market (DMM). The owners of that firm, Gregory Keough and Derek Acree, allegedly sold securities without authorization and provided false information to investors.

The government agency said that it is the first time it has taken action against a securities-based activity using DeFi technology.

Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Law Enforcement Division, noted that the offering had a label that said decentralized and the securities one that read governance tokens. However, he stated that this did not prevent them from ensuring the immediate closure of DeFi Money Market and the return of funds to investors.

The agency reported that the firm sold securities for more than USD 30 million without authorization between February 2020 and the same month in 2021. The entity detailed that they did so through smart contracts and other so-called DeFi resources, without specifying which ones. Furthermore, the men in question allegedly misled their investors about the operations and profitability of DeFi DMM.

Although they neither admitted nor denied committing those crimes, the defendants promised to suspend their activities and not resume them in the future. They also agreed to pay a compensation of USD 12.8 million and an individual fine of USD 125,000. The SEC reported that the scammers had already returned the stolen funds through smart contracts.

How the Defendants Committed the DeFi Scam

The SEC said that Keough and Acree sold mTokens, which investors could buy through certain digital assets at 6.25% interest. Likewise, they offered DMG governance tokens, which gave creditors voting rights, shares of the profits, and the ability to make resale profitable in the secondary market.

The scammers promised investors to buy assets in the real world to pay their interest with the funds raised. However, the SEC detailed that the volatility of digital assets could cause the gains for real-world assets to be insufficient.

Realizing this obstacle in their operations, the defendants lied to their investors to convince them of their idea. For example, the scammers claimed that DeFi Money Market had acquired auto loans, which they displayed on their website.

Since 2020, decentralized finance platforms have proliferated, becoming fertile ground for such scams. Due to this danger, investors should only trade with widely proven protocols and considerable reputations. One of those responsible for technical support for the DeFi Aave platform gave that explanation in October 2020.

By Alexander Salazar