Events made you scare about custodial wallets, centralized exchanges.

[Dave1]

There's a caveat to this and it depends per situation and amount of funds of a user that shall be rendered and entrusted to Binance. I think that binance is one of the kind and they have proven their worth and earned the trust of their users. But still, it's not recommended to put everything that we've got there. They might have proven themselves in the past incidents but, no one will know if they'll be able to handle the same situation if it comes to them. Because it's possible that they'll never be stopped as targets from these hackers even with SAFU or proof of reserve. Maybe a modest amount would do.

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

But for others, there could be some threshold before they withdraw it because it's not safe for them. Remember that everything of today is now a target, being exchanges or addresses that you have total control of. The later though is our responsibility and learn to practice security before anything else.

[Hyphen(-)]

Am yet to have a self custody wallet but the last I heard about coldcard made me the more scared as to why no wallet,be it self custody or exchange wallet is even the better option. Although self custody wallet still remains assured securely, maybe someone like myself should try to learn how to run a node instead.
I don't even think so far that I can leave my funds on an exchange unless am so vested in trading and want to do a quick trade, otherwise, any good self custody wallet remains better even though I still get scared when I think about it most times.

Settling for exchanges is the worst decision you can make, they are riskier than the non-custodial wallets since your assets will be under control of that exchange, you will lose your money once the exchange is compromised, that is why it better to take the control of your Bitcoin wallet to yourself, so that if you lose your Bitcoin, it is on you because you hold the seed phrase and the private keys, unless for such incidents of COLDCARD when the wallet have internal issues, and after some researches, it seems like it is a closed-source wallets, and we know how risky using closed-source wallets are even though they are also non-custodial wallets.

For easy and safe Bitcoin investment especially for beginners, Electrum wallet is there’s well tested and trusted, Bluewallet is also there and so on; these are open-source wallets that you can use if you can keep your seed phrase safe.

[tabas]

There's a caveat to this and it depends per situation and amount of funds of a user that shall be rendered and entrusted to Binance. I think that binance is one of the kind and they have proven their worth and earned the trust of their users. But still, it's not recommended to put everything that we've got there. They might have proven themselves in the past incidents but, no one will know if they'll be able to handle the same situation if it comes to them. Because it's possible that they'll never be stopped as targets from these hackers even with SAFU or proof of reserve. Maybe a modest amount would do.

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

But for others, there could be some threshold before they withdraw it because it's not safe for them. Remember that everything of today is now a target, being exchanges or addresses that you have total control of. The later though is our responsibility and learn to practice security before anything else.

It so hard to rely on them entrusting your funds thinking that they'd be safe wholly. Others are putting it into context that because self custody these days is also risky, they would just choose the centralized exchange to put their funds with. We are on our own and no matter how many times we evangelize and remind others that self custody is still the better option, they are free to choose whatever option they want. They can opt to it and go back to the usual self custody if they have found some loop holes or if they think that the risk remains higher on that choice.

[9ja Amaka]

There's a caveat to this and it depends per situation and amount of funds of a user that shall be rendered and entrusted to Binance. I think that binance is one of the kind and they have proven their worth and earned the trust of their users. But still, it's not recommended to put everything that we've got there. They might have proven themselves in the past incidents but, no one will know if they'll be able to handle the same situation if it comes to them. Because it's possible that they'll never be stopped as targets from these hackers even with SAFU or proof of reserve. Maybe a modest amount would do.

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

But for others, there could be some threshold before they withdraw it because it's not safe for them. Remember that everything of today is now a target, being exchanges or addresses that you have total control of. The later though is our responsibility and learn to practice security before anything else.

An exchange may have funds as SAFU, but that will not guarantee funds will be returned if, by any means, it was stolen. Keeping funds in an exchange basically means that the holder has decided to take full responsibility for any stolen funds and scam attempts.

Bitcoin has several security options. The purpose of having them is for holders to choose from those options that are best for them to use. The one option we individually think is better may be the one to make us regret later.

[tech30338]

There's a caveat to this and it depends per situation and amount of funds of a user that shall be rendered and entrusted to Binance. I think that binance is one of the kind and they have proven their worth and earned the trust of their users. But still, it's not recommended to put everything that we've got there. They might have proven themselves in the past incidents but, no one will know if they'll be able to handle the same situation if it comes to them. Because it's possible that they'll never be stopped as targets from these hackers even with SAFU or proof of reserve. Maybe a modest amount would do.

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

But for others, there could be some threshold before they withdraw it because it's not safe for them. Remember that everything of today is now a target, being exchanges or addresses that you have total control of. The later though is our responsibility and learn to practice security before anything else.

Im just using exchange to sell my tokens or to buy something and then put it on my wallet, not in the exchange, and forget and keep the seed phrase or key in a secure place, yes everything has pros and cons and we should be aware of that so that we should lessen accidents or incidents of account , wallets that are being hack because of being careless, so make things secure and always do the standard thing on personal and exchange wallets so that hackers could have hard time cracking it.

[SilverCryptoBullet]

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

Binance was hacked in the past, their CEO Changpeng Zao wanted to roll back the Bitcoin blockchain, I am sorry but smh with that idea. The community quickly shown strong oppose against that idea from CZ too.

They compensated their users after that hack but when funds stored on any centralized exchanges, let's assume funds are not SAFU, even the exchange is Binance. They compensated money and loss to users in the past hack but nothing you can feel sure that they will do that in the future.

Lately I read posts on X that Binance began to freeze user accounts more often than in the past, with reasons like money laundering, and they require users to show proof of assets that is very annyoing and unsafe.

[snowpega]

but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange.[/b] There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.
...

If we are old enough in the crypto space and really understand the nuance of this matter- that how much it can be risky to hold your major funds on any centralised exchange. Then why would we even give it a little chance by holding funds on any exchange? No matter whether it is the world's most reputable exchange but should never risk our well/hard earned money by holding it on any exchange. Well, this is okay if you need money and you are holding little part of your money on CEX so that you can convert it using P2P to meet your daily or monthly expenses. Always remember one thing, mate, that one mistake can lead to bad consequences. So, this is why we should move accordingly in the crypto space for the best survival. This is my point of view. CMIIW!

[Ashawowo(OS)]

any good self custody wallet remains better even though I still get scared when I think about it most times.

Do not go for just any good self-custody wallets, else you would bump on the types of Trust wallet. Instead, go for reputable open-source non-custodial wallets, we've the likes of Electrum, Sparrow, Blue wallet e.t.c. It can also help to use a bitcoin-only wallet for bitcoin and other open-source wallets like Cake or unstoppable wallet for your altcoins, separating your bitcoin from altcoins is a good step in securing your BTC and would help you to practice proper cold storage with it.

[Tetu100]

Bank to custodial, every centralised entities are bad ideas if truly you want control, but ive meet people who want to be controlled, they always want someone to do everything for them, these types of people are the reasons why centralized power will keep growing.

Those that find themselves in this kind of situation don't need to complain when things eventually go wrong. I'm sure they should be ready to swallow anything that comes as a result of their actions because they brought it upon themselves. Decentralization is the possible way out if we really value our opinion in regard of our funds.

No one can keep your money safe than you, even banks use customers fund at their back for personal gains, especially money locked in fixed accounts, and millions of people don't even know, I hope more people have the calmness to learn the difference.

Its crazy because if we can't trust ourselves enough in keeping our funds then who else will do it better than us. Maybe everything seems fine now but just pray things didn't take the opposite direction then the person involved will know what he have done to himself.

[Comeacross]

Lately I read posts on X that Binance began to freeze user accounts more often than in the past, with reasons like money laundering, and they require users to show proof of assets that is very annyoing and unsafe.

They're called centralized exchanges for a reason. This is generally a common issue with centralized exchanges, not just Binance. They're obtained licences, signed agreements before they start operations. They are obliged to prevent money laundering through their platforms. They flagged, suspend and restrict a user account when they notice something suspicious. Sometimes the amount involved may not even be a huge amount but if comes from a suspicious wallet, you may have some questions to answer and documents to be provided. It's annoying but they're playing their own part of the card. Self custody is the only option if you don't want to play that game with them.

[Patikno]

Lately I read posts on X that Binance began to freeze user accounts more often than in the past, with reasons like money laundering, and they require users to show proof of assets that is very annyoing and unsafe.

They're called centralized exchanges for a reason. This is generally a common issue with centralized exchanges, not just Binance. They're obtained licences, signed agreements before they start operations. They are obliged to prevent money laundering through their platforms. They flagged, suspend and restrict a user account when they notice something suspicious. Sometimes the amount involved may not even be a huge amount but if comes from a suspicious wallet, you may have some questions to answer and documents to be provided. It's annoying but they're playing their own part of the card. Self custody is the only option if you don't want to play that game with them.

It should come as no surprise that centralized exchanges have their own rules, which all users are required to follow. Account suspension is a very real risk, especially for users who fall under suspicion. Therefore, I advise everyone to be aware of these consequences and to read the rules of any platform they intend to use, so as to avoid greater risks, including the safety of your funds.

Personally, I only use centralized exchanges for the actual exchange process. Even then, if I need to make a large transaction, I break it down into smaller increments; this way, I avoid major headaches should any issues arise with my account on the exchange.

[SilverCryptoBullet]

It should come as no surprise that centralized exchanges have their own rules, which all users are required to follow. Account suspension is a very real risk, especially for users who fall under suspicion.

Centralized exchanges are risky because as user, you never know when they will consider your account as suspicious and take action. If you actually did shady and suspicious things, especially risky things for their business in legal terms, it makes sense if they take action against your account. However, if a centralized exchange is scam, they can take action, freeze your account and fund anytime.

Reasons can be given very general, quite simple, like suspicious activities, no more details, and what will you do to take your account and fund back?
Nothing, if they are actually doing that for scam and stealing your money.

[Cookdata]

Everything has it's pros and cons, and Binance was not immune to hack as well. Funds could be SAFU though, but still it depends on how much money you are willing to leave on a exchange. There could be others that are more willing to have big money because they know that the funds are SAFU.

But for others, there could be some threshold before they withdraw it because it's not safe for them. Remember that everything of today is now a target, being exchanges or addresses that you have total control of. The later though is our responsibility and learn to practice security before anything else.

This SAFU campaign Binance is using to distract people not to worry about their security and custody is ridiculous, when you look at the SAFU wallet and the amount they have in their as balance from beginning is funny. For years, that amount of money was around $1b. They left it for years in stablecoin but out of concern, the Binance users has 3x the amount the program amount was launched and they now have more customers funds in their custody and they decided to convert everything to Bitcoin at average bought of $66k, it should be sitting at some few profits but the amount wouldn't cover anything if something should happen later.

There is risk everywhere but risk are bigger than each other, the risk of giving another person your funds to be manage can't be compare to risk if kept inside the personal wallet management. It's not even close except if you are lazy to back up your wallet seed phrase or get scam due to negligence and bad practices.

It's only a centralized exchanges that will lose users funds and instead of letting users know about the dangers of using centralized custody, the same exchange owners advise people to use their exchange service and custodial open source. Only one wicked exchange is capable of doing such.

[Livingleged]

Do not go for just any good self-custody wallets, else you would bump on the types of Trust wallet. Instead, go for reputable open-source non-custodial wallets, we've the likes of Electrum, Sparrow, Blue wallet e.t.c. It can also help to use a bitcoin-only wallet for bitcoin and other open-source wallets like Cake or unstoppable wallet for your altcoins, separating your bitcoin from altcoins is a good step in securing your BTC and would help you to practice proper cold storage with it.

This is very important thing to note when considering wallet to use, I also had a bad experience with trust wallet years ago back even before I joined the forum. that’s why your post really caught my attention, after the experience, I had to make a serious research to identify the causes and lapses that was when I even knew about open source and closed source, custodial and non custodial wallet and a lot of difference bin the type of wallet. since I take note of all that I have been cool with handling my funds.

[Peanutswar]

I used to trust the exchange from previous years, I used to stack up most of my investment assets into these exchange so i can get an opportunity for quick buying and selling my token but apparently I experienced like what other people's problem which is freezing of an assets. I used the MEXC for so long time and after I made a deposit and wait for the confirmation, I tried to swap my tokens into bitcoin there is a prompt of "Risk Control" I thought its just normal because they need to make a number of confirmations. But after that day is I ended up cant withdraw my funds thats the time I reach out their support that took me like a month to process and wait for status of my account and good thing they allowed me to withdraw the funds but cannot longer use their platform so by that I told my self that I will never store huge amount in exhanges.

[PERtua]

I think many forget about this little detail when talking about self custody vs exchange. The removal of the custodian doesn't remove the risk. It just alters the nature of it. An exchange is what you have to be concerned with with regards to freezes. Insolvency or hacks. In self custody, a lost seed phrase. Malware or careless back up will mean you lose the money and there is no way to recover it. I don't feel like the lesson should be taught as never use exchanges. Instead, it's best to work out how much is required to put on an exchange to make a trade and to hold on to any long-term assets where you can manage the keys and backups.

[Somegory]

I want to use this opportunity to ask people in this forum a question without having to create another topic because of it, I believe that some people on here are a victim of FTX exchange.

My question is if anyone on here is a victim of FTX exchange have they gotten anything back from the collapse that happened many years ago? I really want too know this because I have a family member that lost his Bitcoin to FTX and he hasn't gotten anything back.

Some months back I saw a post on X about FTX paying people back what they have lost, but I don't know if this is a genuine news or fake because normally x is full of fake news.

[OcTradism]

I want to use this opportunity to ask people in this forum a question without having to create another topic because of it, I believe that some people on here are a victim of FTX exchange.

My question is if anyone on here is a victim of FTX exchange have they gotten anything back from the collapse that happened many years ago? I really want too know this because I have a family member that lost his Bitcoin to FTX and he hasn't gotten anything back.

Some months back I saw a post on X about FTX paying people back what they have lost, but I don't know if this is a genuine news or fake because normally x is full of fake news.

You can tell your family member to try these
https://claims.ftx.com/welcome
https://support.ftx.com/hc/en-us/articles/33190623459092-General-Information-on-Distribution-Service-Providers

The latest news is FTX already paid their users about $10B and they're going to distribute money in a fifth round.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-distribute-millions-creditors-fifth-payment-round

[YellowSwap]

I've learnt alot of lessons in this crypto space, I am into alternative coins alot and that part have drained me more than staying on Bitcoin alone, I should have known better.

I've lost some coins on centralised exchanges.
I've used custodial wallets that cost me alot of money in the past.

So yes I am a perfect example to all these mistakes but there is nothing to do that can set things right again than to learn from it, don't store coins on centralised exchanges and don't use any custodial wallet and platforms to store your coins.

[Doan9269]

Those that were affected which they were earlier informed before the incident, yet we still discover how some are not being careful about how they handle the security to their asset very well, once you don't have the control over what belongs to you, then you make no difference to using the centralized financial system which the government controls, this is why we prefer others to learn from those that have made mistake in the past so that we will be able to prevent ourselves from having a similar experience in the same manner.