Survey: 25% of crypto users not securing assets as well as they think

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ngrave released the initial results of its ongoing crypto security survey on Wednesday. 

The results give a number of insights into the current state of security in the digital-asset space and show that a full quarter of users perceive their current security measures to be more effective than they actually are.

The survey has so far been completed by over 1,400 crypto users from 78 countries around the world. Despite efforts to push for inclusion in the space, 90% of respondents were male, and over 60% fell within the 25–45 age bracket.

Of those surveyed, 62% held at least some of their cryptocurrency on an exchange, with one in three holding over 40% of their assets on a single exchange.

The vast majority (96%) of those holding assets on exchanges use some form of two-factor authentication, or 2FA. However, one in four do not make a backup of their 2FA codes.

Additionally, almost half of respondents back up their exchange login credentials either online or inconsistently. Furthermore, 44% of exchange users do not whitelist withdrawal addresses.

Two-thirds of those surveyed use a hardware wallet, with three-quarters of these being USB devices, and 87% of hardware wallet users perform test transactions before making large withdrawals.

However, 67% of hardware wallet users keep their backup on a paper wallet, and over half confirmed that their private keys would be compromised if someone found the backup.

Alongside its hardware wallet, Ngrave produces Graphene, which is a method for keeping a wallet backup key engraved on a pair of steel plates, which are both required in order to recover the key.

The survey is still available for those who want to perform an audit of their own cryptocurrency security and gives actionable tips to improve safety measures employed.