Not your keys, not your crypto
Not Your keys, not your crypto is a meme popularized by Andreas Antonopoulos. In his talk, Antonopoulos describes how Public-key cryptography works, and that the owner of the private-key is the sole owner of the crypto held by that wallet.
Custodial vs non-custodial wallets
Examples of Custodial wallet providers: Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken
Examples of noncustodial wallets: MetaMask, Ledger, Coinbase Wallet
A Sovereign Money System
Owning your own private key, and therefore your money, allows you to be your own bank. You can think of this as holding cash under your mattress, as opposed to in a bank. But more secure because you only have to secure a seed phrase instead of lots of physical cash. Cutting out the banks also has systemic advantages, such as decreased likelihood of bank runs, and putting the money multiplier effect into the hands of the people.
On Twitter:
Not your keys, not your coins.
This is a friendly reminder to not hold all of your coins on unregulated crypto exchanges, which can disappear at any moment and your funds will be gone forever.
In the spirit of @TraceMayer ´s upcoming #ProofOfKeys event on January 3, 2019 i made a little Meme. Dont feel like these guys. Not your keys not your (Bit)coins. #BTC
The Japanese crypto exchange, Liquid has just had a $74 million hack in bitcoin and eth.
Stop leaving most your wealth on exchanges, not your keys not your coins!!! 🔑
Self-custodying your #Bitcoin on a hardware wallet is the first step to becoming a sovereign individual. nfa
Remember not your keys, not your crypto.
Final Thoughts:
Not your keys, not your crypto, has served as a great reminder to one of crypto’s most fundamental truths, that the owner of the private key is the owner of the money. It acts as a reminder to all of us, to take ownership over your crypto, even if it is easier to just leave your crypto in an exchange. It also acts as a reminder of security rule number one, which is to NEVER ever give someone else your private key or seed phrase.
Additional Resources: Ultimate guide to bitcoin wallets seeds private keys public keys and addresses TOP 3 DEFI WALLETS FOR 2021 - What Features Do They Support? - Finematics Peer-to-Peer Money in a Historical Context - Andreas Antonopoulos Disclosures Not financial advice. Crypto currencies are risky and you could lose what you put in.