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Use Bitcoin Easily And Privately With Cake Wallet

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Company Name: Cake Wallet

Founders: Vik Sharma

Date Founded: October 2017

Location of Headquarters: Saint Kitts and Nevis (and staff is remote)

Number of Employees: 14

Website: https://cakewallet.com/

Public or Private? Private

When Vik Sharma isn’t serving as the CEO of Liberty Steel, he’s focused on making bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies easier and more private to use via Cake Wallet.

Sharma believes that a product must be user-friendly if it is to be adopted widely, which is why usability is at the center of the Cake Wallet mission.

“The very broad mission of Cake Wallet is to bring cryptocurrency to the masses, to enable people to easily send, receive, hold, swap, on-ramp, and off-ramp crypto like you would with Venmo or PayPal,” Sharma told Bitcoin Magazine.

The other primary dimension of the Cake Wallet mission is privacy.

Sharma is a staunch believer in the idea of transactional privacy, something he came to value after experiencing just how public bitcoin is by default.

Prioritizing Privacy

Sharma first started acquiring and mining Bitcoin in November 2013. (The ASIC miners he purchased from eBay and ran in the basement of his office building back then were minting him a cool 0.2 bitcoin per day at the time.)

By the mid-2010s, Sharma wanted to do more with his bitcoin than just HODL it. He wanted to use it, and, at that time, it was mostly only illicit online marketplaces that accepted bitcoin.

“Back then, it was hard to find anyone that took bitcoin,” began Sharma. “You had Silk Road, and then AlphaBay and other darknet markets, and I thought, ‘Let me check this out.’”

After attempting to make a purchase on one of those darknet sites, Sharma was promptly notified that he’d crossed a legal line.

“I sent Bitcoin directly from my Coinbase account to the darknet address,” said Sharma.

“And, I kid you not, within seconds, I got an email from Coinbase saying ‘Your account has been suspended or deleted or canceled because you’ve violated some terms of service and you need to move your assets ASAP. I was like, ‘What the heck? How did they find out? There must be millions of addresses out there. Are they tracking millions of addresses?’” he added.

“That woke me up to the transparent nature of Bitcoin.”

Not only did Sharma’s experience using bitcoin in a darknet marketplace enlighten him as to just how public a ledger Bitcoin actually is, but it also introduced him to Monero (XMR).

“There was this other special coin on AlphaBay called Monero, and I thought ‘Why not Litecoin or Ethereum or whatever was big at that time — why only Bitcoin and Monero?’” said Sharma.

It was in pursuing an answer to this question that Sharma went deep down the Monero rabbit hole. His research led him to embracing the concept of transacting privately with cryptocurrency.

And so he created Cake Wallet — a Monero-only wallet at its inception.

Cake Wallet And Silent Payments

Cake Wallet launched in January 2018. Approximately one year later, Sharma added Bitcoin functionality to the wallet, as well.

However, for over five years, Cake Wallet users had little ability to transact privately with bitcoin using Cake Wallet. The wallet didn’t have a Lightning implementation (Lightning offers more privacy than the Bitcoin base chain), nor many other privacy-enhancing features (aside from letting users add or select the node they want to use within the wallet).

If a user wanted to make a private payment, they were better suited using XMR.

But transacting with Bitcoin via Cake Wallet became somewhat more private (though still not as private as using Monero) in September 2024, when Cake wallet became the first bitcoin wallet to implement Silent Payments.

Silent Payments enable users to receive bitcoin payments without revealing their public Bitcoin address. They’re like a P.O. Boxes for public Bitcoin addresses — static addresses that allow users to receive bitcoin without having to reveal their actual Bitcoin address — and they’re great for anyone doing fundraising or accepting payments via a public Bitcoin address.

“When I read about Silent Payments, I liked it right away,” said Sharma. “I wish the Bitcoin community was more enthusiastic about it, because I think it’s a great feature, especially if you’re posting an address publicly, whether for donations or payments.”

Because one of Cake Wallet’s most notable features, Bird Pay, hinges on users posting their address publicly, Silent Payments is a game changer.

Unveiled approximately one year ago, Bird Pay enables Cake Wallet users to send bitcoin (or other crypto assets) to a contact using nothing other than an X handle.

The receiver simply has to add their bitcoin address, which can be a Silent Payments address, to either their bio or a pinned tweet, and Cake Wallet can fetch the information from there.

“CakeWallet will use the Twitter API, pull the address and send the payment to you,” explained Sharma, also noting that this same feature can be used via Nostr or Mastodon.

“There’s a place where you should put your Silent Payments address,” he added.

Cause For Concern

While the Bitcoin and Monero communities have embraced the privacy that Cake Wallet offers, Sharma is concerned that the U.S. federal government could turn out to not be so keen on it.

In an era in which the government is cracking down on privacy-enhancing Bitcoin and crypto services, including Bitcoin Fog, Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet, it seems difficult for anyone who’s creating such privacy-preserving crypto technology to not think twice about what’s at stake.

“It does worry me — and not because we’re doing anything wrong,” said Sharma. “But something could be twisted or construed to make it seem as if we are doing something wrong.”

As a precautionary measure, Sharma has moved the headquarters of Cake Wallet overseas, from Florida to Nevis and Saint Kitts, something that Roger Ver advised him to do.

He also discusses all updates to Cake Wallet with the company’s general counsel to make sure that Cake Wallet isn’t breaking any laws. While his lawyers have assured him he isn’t, he’s aware that skewed interpretations of laws and legal guidelines could potentially cause problems for Cake Wallet.

“If you dig deep enough into the way the laws are written, they might say, ‘No, you’re a money transmitter business, even though we’re not,’” explained Sharma.

“We’re not touching users’ funds. We don’t have access to them. Even though we built the app, once that app is on the user’s phone, it’s being generated on their phone, not on our servers,” he added.

“But they might come back and say, ‘But it connects to your node initially.’ Who knows? I’m just using that as an example — even though we give the option right up front for users to not connect to our node.”

Staying On Mission

Despite a concerning legal backdrop, Sharma and the Cake Wallet team plan to stay the course and to remain mission-driven, focused on making Bitcoin both easy and private to use.

“We have stuck to our ethos,” said Sharma.

“The team will call each other out like, ‘No, we shouldn’t put this feature in because it violates this privacy or that privacy or could in the future. We have those debates internally all the time,” he added.

And because Sharma has never taken VC money for Cake Wallet, the only people that he and his team have to answer to, aside from themselves, is their users.

“Since we’re not beholden to a VC, investment firm or an angel investor who’s looking for a return, nobody’s on top of us. We’re able to do what our users want, what our community wants.”



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Crypto Trader Says Solana Competitor Starting To Show Bullish Momentum, Updates Outlook on Bitcoin and Ethereum

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A widely followed crypto analyst says one Solana (SOL) competitor may be gearing up for a breakout.

In a new thread, crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe tells his 783,000 followers on the social media platform X that Sei (SEI) may increase more than 100% its current value if it breaks through a key resistance level.

“SEI starts to show momentum. The Bitcoin pair has a strong bullish divergence on the higher timeframes and the USD pair faces a crucial resistance. Breaking through $0.20 opens up a continuation towards $0.30-$0.35.”

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Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

SEI is trading for $0.17 at time of writing, down 2.4% in the last 24 hours.

Next up, the analyst says that Bitcoin (BTC) is in a consolidation phase that may lead to an explosive move to the upside.

“Bitcoin is stuck in the final range. Another test of $87,000 and we’ll likely break upwards to the rally of a new all-time high.”

Bitcoin is trading for $83,800 at time of writing, flat on the day.

Lastly, the analyst says that Ethereum (ETH) may be kicking off an uptrend if the price of gold peaks, based on ETH’s historic inverse correlation with the precious metal.

“A good start of the week, as ETH is +4% against Bitcoin. The ultimate question whether it will sustain or not, last months it has been giving back the returns in the days after. What to monitor? Gold peaking or not. If that’s the case, then we’ll see more strength on ETH.”

Image
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

The analyst also says that ETH’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator is flashing bullish, having entered oversold territory.

The RSI is a momentum oscillator used to determine whether an asset is oversold or overbought. The RSI’s values range from zero to 100. A level between 70 and 100 indicates that an asset is overbought. The 0 to 30 level range indicates that an asset is oversold.

“It’s been a bear market for 1,225 days for ETH, as, in this period, gold did a 2x. The lowest RSI on the weekly candle for ETH as well.”

Image
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

ETH is trading for $1,589 at time of writing, down 2% in the last 24 hours.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Why Did Bitcoin Price (BTC) Fall on Wednesday Afternoon

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A modest bitcoin rally to a possible challenge of the $86,000 level quickly reversed during U.S. afternoon trading hours on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on the effects of President Trump’s tariff regime.

“The level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated,” said Powell in a speech. “The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”

In other words, stagflation — a throwback to a sizable portion of the 1970s when the U.S. experienced weak economic activity alongside double-digit inflation.

“We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” continued Powell.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell about 2.5% in the minutes following the Powell remarks, now trading at $83,700, down 1.5% over the past 24 hours.

U.S. stocks, which had been trying to mount a comeback from opening declines, also were hit, the Nasdaq slumping 3.4% to a session low.

Powell also mentioned that as crypto is becoming more mainstream, there’s a need for a legal framework for stablecoins. He said that banking regulation around crypto will likely be “partially relaxed.”

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee cleared a bill to regulate stablecoin issuers in March, marking the first committee approval and a significant step closer to law in the U.S.

Hawkish Fed weighs on crypto and BTC

“Powell came out extremely hawkish,” Quinn Thompson, chief investment officer of hedge fund Lekker Capital, said in a Telegram message. It’s notable that Powell downplayed last week’s market turmoil characterizing it as “orderly market functioning,” he added.

“I would have at least expected him to give a nod to the elevated volatility and ruptures forming in the treasury market but he did not do that,” Thompson said.

Powell’s tone suggests that investors should temper their expectations for rate cuts in the upcoming meetings, said Thompson, which could weigh on risk assets including crypto.

“It appears a May cut is firmly off the table barring Fed intervention for bad reasons and I wouldn’t say June is a lock either,” concluded Thompson. “The bull case for crypto and bitcoin specifically is liquidity and policymaker intervention. Both of those seemed very far off based, so it’s difficult for me to paint a constructive picture in the immediate term.”

UPDATE (April 16, 18:40 UTC): Adds additional comments made by Chair Powell about stablecoins. Adds analyst comment.





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How Expanding Global Liquidity Could Drive Bitcoin Price To New All-Time Highs

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Bitcoin’s price trajectory is once again capturing headlines, and this time the catalyst appears to be global liquidity trends reshaping investor sentiment. In a recent comprehensive breakdown, Matt Crosby, Lead Analyst at Bitcoin Magazine Pro, presents compelling evidence tying the digital asset’s renewed bullish momentum to the expanding global M2 money supply. His insights not only illuminate the future of Bitcoin price but also anchor its macroeconomic relevance in a broader financial context.

Figure 1: Historically, Bitcoin bull markets have coincided with the accelerated expansion of global liquidity. View Live Chart

Bitcoin Price and Global Liquidity: A High-Impact Correlation

Crosby highlights a remarkable and consistent correlation—often exceeding 84%—between Bitcoin price and global M2 liquidity levels. As liquidity increases across the global economy, Bitcoin price typically responds with upward movement, although with a noticeable delay. Historical data supports the observation of a 56–60 day lag between monetary expansion and Bitcoin price increases.

This insight has recently proven accurate, as Bitcoin price rebounded from lows of $75,000 to above $85,000. This trend closely aligns with the forecasted recovery that Crosby and his team had outlined based on macro indicators, validating the strength and reliability of the correlation driving Bitcoin price upward.

Why the 2-Month Delay Impacts Bitcoin Price

The two-month delay in market response is a critical observation for understanding Bitcoin price movements. Crosby emphasizes that monetary policy and liquidity injections do not immediately affect speculative assets like BTC. Instead, there is an incubation period, typically around two months, during which liquidity filters through financial systems and begins to influence Bitcoin price.

Crosby has optimized this correlation through various backtests, adjusting timeframes and offsets. Their findings indicate that a 60-day delay yields the most predictive accuracy across both short-term (1-year) and extended (4-year) historical Bitcoin price action. This lag provides a strategic advantage to investors who monitor macro trends to anticipate Bitcoin price surges.

Adding further credibility to the thesis, Crosby extends his analysis to traditional equity markets. The S&P 500 exhibits an even stronger all-time correlation of approximately 92% with global liquidity. This correlation strengthens the argument that monetary expansion is a significant driver not just for Bitcoin price, but also for broader risk-on asset classes.

By comparing liquidity trends with multiple indices, Crosby demonstrates that Bitcoin price is not an anomaly but part of a broader systemic pattern. When liquidity rises, equities and digital assets alike tend to benefit, making M2 supply an essential indicator for timing Bitcoin price movements.

Forecasting Bitcoin Price to $108,000 by June 2025

To build a forward-looking perspective, Crosby employs historical fractals from previous bull markets to project future Bitcoin price movements. When these patterns are overlaid with current macro data, the model points to a scenario where Bitcoin price could retest and potentially surpass its all-time highs, targeting $108,000 by June 2025.

This optimistic projection for Bitcoin price hinges on the assumption that global liquidity continues its upward trajectory. The Federal Reserve’s recent statements suggest that further monetary stimulus could be deployed if market stability falters—another tailwind for Bitcoin price growth.

The Rate of Expansion Affects Bitcoin Price

While rising liquidity levels are significant, Crosby stresses the importance of monitoring the rate of liquidity expansion to predict Bitcoin price trends. The year-on-year M2 growth rate offers a more nuanced view of macroeconomic momentum. Although liquidity has generally increased, the pace of expansion had slowed temporarily before resuming an upward trend in recent months.

Figure 2: The year-on-year change in money supply from major central banks versus year-on-year change in Bitcoin price. View Live Chart

This trend is strikingly similar to conditions observed in early 2017, just before Bitcoin price entered an exponential growth phase. The parallels reinforce Crosby’s bullish outlook on Bitcoin price and emphasize the importance of dynamic, rather than static, macro analysis.

Final Thoughts: Preparing for the Next Bitcoin Price Phase

While potential risks such as a global recession or a significant equity market correction persist, current macro indicators point toward a favorable environment for Bitcoin price. Crosby’s data-driven approach offers investors a strategic lens to interpret and navigate the market.

For those looking to make informed decisions in a volatile environment, these insights provide actionable intelligence grounded in economic fundamentals to capitalize on Bitcoin price opportunities.

For more deep-dive research, technical indicators, real-time market alerts, and access to a growing community of analysts, visit BitcoinMagazinePro.com.


Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.



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