Security Vs Convenience In Crypto

[Obim34]

~snip

How easy do you want security to be, it's a must to pay greater prize for greater rewards, if you want to get better protection, it is compulsory to consider extra protocol, it is better you don't buy Bitcoin at all, than buying to lose them.

We don't need to pay any scarifies, decentralized exchanges are easy to use, and any person refusing such system, is either lazy to maximize effective security awareness or ignorant of the required knowledge which is no excuse if attacked.

Bitcoin isn't desperate for mass adoption, Bitcoin does not have central authorities who are always in demand for profits.

[TypoTonic]

[...] I often wonder what really makes managing your own seed phrase stressful. Do you even manage it? There's literally nothing you need to do about it except writing it down on a piece of paper and make sure you don't lose it. And it's pretty much simple.

I don't get it either. It's honestly more inconvenient having to submit your ID, along with other personal information, and then wait for approval just to register an account on a local CEX. And not only that, you will still need to verify every transaction you make due to regulatory requirements. It's no different than having to explain to the bank why you want to withdraw your own money, I've had enough of that which is why I prefer to have full control over my funds.

For crypto to reach mass adoption, do we need more convenience or should the focus remain on security and self-custody?

I don't think convenience is an issue when it comes to mass adoption, I believe it's more about the lack of awareness and education. The people should understand why self-custody matters, instead of using the traditional systems just because it's what they're familiar/comfortable with.

[macson]

Many users prefer centralized platforms because they are easier to use than self-custody wallets.

I don't think it's because exchanges are easier to use than self-custody wallets, but rather that with an exchange, someone can swap their Bitcoin to fiat and vice versa, and then withdraw it to their bank account. Exchanges also allow people to get involved in futures trading.

The various features provided by exchanges are what make people choose to use them, even with the risk that they are trading full control over their own assets for that accessibility.

[CryptoVoyager24]

Security and convenience are mutually exlusive.
Every time someone tries to make a wallet user friendly, they just open up a massive attack vector.
Cold storage is actually supposed to be annoying to access.
If its easy, its vulnerable.

[Dogedegen]

No, I don't agree. Security and convenience aren't mutually exclusive. You don't have to sacrifice one in order to avail of the other.

I don't know why you received merit for this post, because this is in direct opposition to knowledge that is being taught in security at universities. They teach that and it is well known that convenience and security are at direct odds with each other. And most often what happens is that the more secure something is the harder it is to use it. The easier it is to use it, the less safe it is. How many cloud based wallets need to be hacked or how many multisignature hardware wallets fail to be hacked for you to understand that this is true?

Convenience in crypto as from my understanding is basically just a more refined UX flow and nothing more.

People choose exchange because people care about making profit more than actually holding their bitcoin, they just want a faster way to sell their bitcoin and treat it like holding stocks.

User convenience is a defined thing that applies to every activity that a human can do and because of that your claim does not make sense. Users are not choosing exchanges because they care about profit, that is not true because having your coin on an exchange does not make you more profit. You profit the same whether on the exchange or off the exchange. The reason here is convenience of use and the speed of use. You don't have to learn how to store Bitcoin securely, you don't have to make transactions to do something. You click buttons on an exchange, it is faster, that is what convenience is about. It is not about making more profit.

Many users prefer centralized platforms because they are easier to use than self-custody wallets.

Is it though?

Yes it is, you are wrong about this.

Security and convenience are mutually exlusive.

Many people here wrote wrong things, but you understand it. I am happy to see that.