After Elon Musk, Binance's CZ Calls For Crypto Self-Custody In The Wake Of FTX Fallout

The FTX fraud and the subsequent hack that reportedly drained about $600 million from the tainted cryptocurrency exchange have brought back discussions concerning the steps to avert such fraud.

What Happened: Self-custody is a fundamental human right, said Changpenz Zhao, founder of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. The billionaire, who is widely known as CZ, said investors are free to do it any time, and they just need to ensure that they do it right, he said.

CZ recommended getting started with small amounts to learn the tech/tools first, and cautioned that mistakes can be very costly.

In another tweet, CZ also canvassed for TrustWallet, a self-custodial cryptocurrency acquired by Binance in 2018. “@TrustWallet allows you to store your crypto yourself, if you want. Your keys, your coins,” he said.

.@TrustWallet your keys, your coins. https://t.co/pJUc26kQ7n

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 13, 2022

While participating in a Twitter Space, Tesla CEO Elon Musk called upon crypto holders to keep their coins in a cold wallet and not on an exchange.

See also: FTX Used Customer Funds To Fund Risky Bets, Leading To Its Downfall: Report

Why It’s Important: A self-custody wallet, aka non-custodial wallet, allows a person to store and manage digital currencies and other digital assets. The private keys that represent ownership of the cryptocurrency for one’s Wallet are stored directly on the holder’s web browser or hardware device, and not with a centralized crypto exchange.

As opposed to this, a custodial wallet would suggest a third party secures a holder’s assets on their behalf. Although these wallets are easy to use, they do not give holders full control over their assets.

At last check, Bitcoin was trading down 1.44% to $16,643.57 over the past 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Best Bitcoin Wallets

Photo: Courtesy of binance.com