Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins
Principle stating that only holding private keys ensures cryptocurrency ownership.
Beginner-friendly explanation
Not your keys, not your coins means that if you don’t have your private key, you don’t truly own your crypto. Exchanges often hold keys on your behalf. Example: If Binance closes your account, you lose access to your crypto.
Intermediate-level insight
Controlling the private key is the only guarantee of actual ownership of digital assets. Leaving funds on an exchange exposes users to risks like bankruptcy, hacking, or censorship. Example: The FTX collapse showed the risk of keeping crypto on a centralized platform.
Advanced perspective
The Not your keys, not your coins principle underpins crypto's sovereign philosophy. It advocates self-custody through non-custodial wallets, hardware wallets, and distributed recovery plans. Example: A serious investor uses a hardware wallet and a multisignature scheme to secure funds.
Security / Regulation & Culture
not your keys, not your coins, self-custody, wallet, private key, exchange, FTX, bankruptcy