With the wave of uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market following the explosion of FTX, leaders and prominent figures in the industry have started cautioning users of the dangers of storing crypto without including self-custody as a holding strategy.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and self-custody
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, took to Twitter to urge the community to use self-custody wallets to store their own cryptocurrency rather than holding their assets in an exchange or centralised platform. With cryptocurrency as immutable and actions irreversal, he noted that mistakes are expensive, adding that users should do it right from the get-go.
Self custody is a fundamental human right.
You are free to do it at any time.
Just make sure you do do it right.
Recommend start with small amounts to learn the tech/tools first.
Mistakes here can be very costly.
Stay #SAFU— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 13, 2022
Michael Saylor’s crypto holding recommendations
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor also commented on why self-custody is so important, given the currency economic climate and the state of the market. According to Saylor, self-custody tools are in place to protect the network and its users from corruption by actors and gives investors property rights: He explained to Cointelegraph:
“In systems where there is no self-custody, the custodians accumulate too much power and then they can abuse that power. So self-custody is very valuable for this broad middle class, as it tends to create […] this power of checks and balances on every other actor in the system that causes them to be in continual competition to provide transparency and virtue.”
Dan Held and self sovereignty
Dan Held, former Director at crypto exchange Kraken and current marketing advisor at Trust Machines, also commented on how self custody is the only way to hold and maintain your own assets.
Self custody your Bitcoin and run a full node.
That’s how you achieve self sovereignty.
Don’t trust, verify.
— Dan Held (@danheld) November 12, 2022
