Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins
A warning that if you don’t control the private keys, you don’t truly control the funds.
"Not your keys, not your coins" reminds users that funds held on exchanges or custodial services can be frozen, lost, or mismanaged. True control requires holding your own private keys.
"When an exchange pauses withdrawals, users without their own keys can’t access their coins. Non-custodial wallets avoid this risk."
Best practice is to use non-custodial wallets for long-term holdings and keep only what you need for trading on exchanges. Always back up your mnemonic securely.
"After buying BCH on an exchange, transfer it to a wallet where you control the keys before holding long-term."
Related Terms
Custodial Wallet
→A wallet where a third party controls the private keys on your behalf.
Non-custodial Wallet
→A wallet where you control the private keys, without relying on a third party to hold your funds.
Hardware wallet
→A hardware wallet is a dedicated physical device that securely stores private keys and signs transactions offline to protect against malware and remote attacks.
Mnemonic
→A sequence of words used to generate and recover a private key, typically 12 or 24 words long.
Key pair
→A key pair consists of a private key and a corresponding public key used for digital signatures and addresses in cryptocurrencies.
All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.
