Topic: Binance Founder CZ warns against receiving assets through shared private keys an (Read 389 times)

There may be some positives to adopting this method, but learners must be sufficiently aware of the degree of risk and all the technical details available so that there is no unexpected disruption in the transaction.
On the other hand, I want to emphasize that this is a big risk that is generally not recommended; let us remember together what happened to Mixer CM, which seized the assets found in the seized servers. CM relied on the chip method for payment, which contained private keys to Bitcoin addresses with amounts of specific values, which the user obtained and then transferred to one of his own addresses. First, this method requires complete trust in CM because it has a copy of the chips. Second, when the servers were seized, we discovered that CM was lying about destroying the copies of the chips in its possession, and all the Bitcoin that the authorities found on those addresses were actually confiscated, causing many to lose assets estimated at more than 7 Bitcoin.

When you make your investment personal, they will take proper care of it because most people will invest, and there are a lot of things that they don't take seriously, and sharing private keys with people is not good advice. and I know that there will be cases of people running with people's funds so it is better to keep your funds safe from predators like that because thieves are always playing smart.


And I don't even believe in people holding my money for me when nothing is wrong with me, so it is better to take responsibility for your funds, and if eventually, you entrust it to someone's hand, there is a very good possibility that it might be stolen, so it is better to trust yourself alone to avoid unnecessary future occurrences that is the only way you can be safe.

It avoids to use blockchain and for the transaction to become public, it also avoids to have to pay BTC transaction fees while theyr can be pretty high. So if the amounts are rather small, it's not always a bad idea, but the receiver has to spend funds or send them towards a private and safe address quickly. Otherwise the sender could take them back and no one will be able to say if he's the culprit or if a hacker made it. 

Scammers always try to play smart; there are also some cases where someone can offer to send payment to someone instead of sending the payment directly to the person's address.
 
They can just give them a phrase or private key, which the fund is inside, which in such a case the best thing to do is to move the coin to another place and abandon the wallet, but some people forget about this and keep using the wallet, which is very risky, as the first user still has access to the wallet.

That's really a good point to discuss because while making in-hand deals, it's important that the seller still does not own the pass keys, as it's his/her wallet so they definitely own the seed phrase, so basically they should just send the BTC to the buyer in his wallet, or they should move the funds to a wallet with more than one signature to make the tx but what's the point in that, as this method is for partners, not for a single person?

So, I don't really get how this can be achievable, as if I am not wrong, recently it was MSTR or I don't really remember the name of the firm that bought BTC as an in-hand deal directly bought their wallet. I mean only the big deal, like in billions and millions, should be done like this, especially when selling, so there would be no panic in the market, but this will also become complex if we talk more about it. But let's just keep it tight to airdrops alone and yes in order to get some airdrop giving your seed phrase is the most dumbest thing unless you created a new wallet with no balance on it.

Most of the newbies become prey to such scams because they don't know what a seed phrase is and what they can lose if they give it to anyone.

Yes, I was also surprised not until I realised that there are always newbies to the industry. People who have been here for long might not have need for such basic advices but we shouldn't forget that there are absolute beginners which is the reason such basics advices shouldn't cease.
Infact, in general, the cryptocurrency industry is still relatively new and now that the bull season is on, a season many newbies greet the industry, such basic advices should also be encouraged. As I said earlier, when big names like CZ gives such advice, people will likely take them serious.

Why does the OP sound like CZ has discovered something that we all have been oblivious of, lol, anybody who does not know that they should not use a wallet that another person has the keys to, shouldn't be using bitcoin, it has been said a million times in this forum.

That being said, hope you know CZ is happy when people store funds in binance, but we know that is a bad thing to do, so don't make it seem like CZ really cares about your funds. He once said 99% of people will lose their assets if they put it in a non-custodial wallet, amazing, lol.

It's just weird, it's the same advice all over and over again ever since bitcoin was created yet there are still people who did just like that, for what purpose?. I was shock that even founders still do it (from CZ's tweet too) sending fund through private keys, when you can ask their wallet address for you to send.

That's another thing, not the context of the story.
here's its context.
This means that if someone gives you a wallet with a private key and asks you to deposit funds, you shouldn’t consider it truly yours because the private key didn’t originate from you. What you should do is immediately transfer your assets to a new wallet that you fully control to prevent any risk of getting hacked.

The same principle applies to hardware wallets that come preconfigured with a wallet. The supplier might have access to the private key, so you should take every precaution to protect your assets. Otherwise, all the years you’ve spent hodling could vanish in an instant.

Owning a wallet and securing its private key is as basic as it gets. Without taking the right precautions, we risk losing money. Maybe in the past, when scams were less frequent, it wasn’t as alarming, but now, with the number of scams increasing, it should already be clear that if we don’t originally own the key, the account is likely to be compromised. Honestly, we shouldn’t need someone like CZ to remind us of this, as it’s a fundamental step to securing our assets.

That is why having a crypto will be personal responsibility. We can't just trust other people even if that is our family because there still a chance that people will run away with the balance to other wallet and they are disappear.

It is better we keep that wallet by ourselves and not share the private key to others. Those who want participates in the airdrop must use different wallet to receive the rewards because if something bad happen, they will not risk all of his balance on that wallet.

Not unless the recipient is wise, where he/she can easily transfer it out immediately to another wallet. However, I believe scammers are wiser because for sure they will only put sa mall amount of assets inside that wallet so they will expect that recipient will use it like add more assets in the future.

Well, let get this right thou... It's advisable not to use your main wallet for airdrops and or any promotional campaign but pasting your address deliberately or mistakenly will never make your asset disappear. The certain and possible ways you can lose your assets is by either sharing your private keys or click on phishing links granting them access to your funds or seed.


He cares about Not Your Keys Not Your Coins and that's why he chooses to help people keep the keys rather than giving them access to their keys 

But I'm curious, how do people attempt to receive coins through private keys? What kind of mentality is that? Probably, the sender and the receiver lack basic knowledge of crypto.

Does this include trust wallets that give you seeds and cannot guarantee that those private keys are not recorded, and this extends to any closed source wallet.
Although CZ's advice is good, he is the last person to care about the notYourKeysNotYourCoins principle

Nothing new, nothing impressive, Why in the hell would people do such a brain dead move, sharing wallet keys with each other? If they don't have money to buy a hardware wallet they probably shouldn't be investing in crypto in the first place. "Not your key, Not your coin" isn't it?

I completely agree that it is essential to inform people about scams in crypto or even every industry. Even though there is a lot of advice and warnings available online people still lose their money to scams every day. This is not because they do not know about advice but because industry is naturally at risk for scams. Everyone is in danger and it is very important to be careful. It is good to see important people like CZ continuing to warn others about possible scams. Hopefully their efforts will work and people will become more careful and smart.

In this industry, we should just have many crusaders against scam. This is the reason I do not get offended no matter how often I see the advice on how to safeguard one's coin. Irrespective of the numerous advice is in the internet, people keep losing their assets on a daily basis. Does it mean that they do not read this advice and recommendations, no. Rather it means that the nature of the industry is that of scam. Everyone is vulnerable and if you are not conscious enough you will be the first to be scammed. Do not be surprised that in a decade to come, there will still be advice such as do not share your private key with anyone. Yet, people will still share private keys or connect them to third party apps.
Cool that big names like CZ are not tired of warning. Maybe people could listen.

It didn't come to me as a surprise because people do silly mistakes. Similarly, I think beneficiaries who inherited crypto through private keys should generate a new private key and transfer the funds, just to be safe.

You misunderstood it. The post is not about storing funds on CEXs or choosing hardware devices but a warning to people not to buy crypto through private as the seller still has the private keys and can play a fast one on the buyer by transferring the funds to a different wallet.

This is a type of scam that's very popular not only on YouTube but also on social media platforms like X, Meta, TG, and IG. They come online as if they don't know anything about crypto and need someone to help them out, and they willingly share their key with the person, which such a wallet always contains. Altcoin, which requires a gas fee before it can be sent out, is in most cases the wallet, which is always a signatory wallet that requires more than one signing to grant send-out permission. Once any tokens are deposited, they get moved out immediately to a designated address, which might be the work of a bot due to the speed they use.

What is the difference between giving someone a private key or seed phrase and using the CEX platform that has the investor's private key and controls his assets? I think it is the same. The asset holder is supposed to be the sole controller of his assets without third parties interfering or sharing this important information with anyone. This advice after sharing the secret information is found as a warning to any user who has created a new wallet in one of the decentralized wallets or not taking a screenshot of his secret phrases because undoubtedly if it falls into someone's hands, he will be able to access the wallet and steal all the assets immediately.

Also, for those interested in airdrops, it is important and secure to use a new wallet without using their main wallet. This is an important precautionary because if the wallet is connected and the transaction is signed on a phishing site, the investor will lose all their assets. Therefore, any newcomer to this field should be aware of these basic principles.

This is what should be:

1. Don't use a centralized exchange because you wont have the privilege of being given your private keys.

2. Secondly, only make use of hardware wallet from a reliable brand as well as source while getting one.

I wont go with the idea of preferring a custodial wallet to a non custodial one, this is totally not right, we all need to have control over the digital assets we have, no one should get misinformed, we should only go for the best available option that can give us control over our crypto and in his statement, he is probably referring to some hardware wallets like ledger or so and not all the non custodial storages entirely.

I think this one should be a basis for any bitcoiner. You must always use your keys!
Regarding hardware wallets, in some cases you can prove these are original. I know, not everybody could like it, but hardware wallets are just fancy items for new coiners and nothing to be used by serious bitcoiners. Enjoy a free read and why not the best instructions for keys generation
glacierprotocol.org

The scammers are doing this, in platforms like YouTube and other social media platforms. The scammers are playing victims that they are ignorant and shares the recovery words on it. And while the gullible victim might believe that they're for real, they're the actual targets of these scams. Little did they know, they're the ones that will be sucked with the money that they might deposit on these wallets for gas fees.

Seem an obvious warning but somehow people the not savvy ones fall for this trick.
If you are aware of the security of the asset when given to you or sent by you, you would recommend having a new wallet. Having a new one with the private key of course is better.

If I have to give coins to someone, I would rather send them to his exchange wallet especially if the guy is new to cryptocurrency. This way I can recommend sending it to his private wallet or keeping it on the exchange until he knows how to secure it.

I believe you got it wrong.

He is warning that we should not hold on to Private Keys we have received from others because the initial owner can still access it.  So instead of holding on to Private Keys, the receivers should move the Funds and empty it before disposing of it.  But I think he worded it pretty badly.

If your friend hands you a piece of paper with a Private Key on it, it does not mean they are Scamming you.  But to avoid problems in the future, it is wise to wipe it to your own Wallet instead.  The title of this warning sounds as if anybody who gives you a Private Key is trying to Scam you.

He has given important warning to people who have cryptocurrency. He is right to say it is very risky to accept cryptocurrency from someone else private keys or wallets. This can lead to losing your money or having your security compromised. By the way it is still surprising that many people still do not know about these risks. To stay safe keep in mind that never share your private keys or seed phrases and do not accept assets from pre set wallets and use separate wallets for different activities. So we should take this warning seriously and should protect our assets.

Sure one can,  but the question remains whether he will smart enough to  do it or proceed to  use it and  will top the relevant address up.

There are still plenty of novices who have no idea on how important to rely solely on private keys generated personally and keep them hidden from outsiders.

Regarding HW, they may be be infiltrated with modified firmware so that  their resetting will  do nothing, ^{if that firmware is sophisticated to the high extend even attempt of reflashing may not help.}

 This is really a big issue and for CZ to give such a warning, it means people are not taking these things too seriously. We've heard of so many people losing all their funds because they were careless with their keys and now that we are in the festive period, scammers are getting desperate and even individuals who you feel can be trusted aren't really trustworthy.

Yeah, but it's going to be cycle, a vicious one in the market as there could be cryptoiners who don't understand the concept of not your keys not your coins. And we really don't trust anyone here, but we need to verify everything. And cyber criminals will stay here no matter what and so the lesson to all of us is to really educate ourselves and be self-aware of what is happening in the world that we live in. There could be another modus that this scammers are going to developed in the future, maybe old and recycled, but I do think that they will find another way to pull another new and unfamiliar scams.

Never share a private key or seed  with someone, that's bad it just like sharing same wallet and anyone can do what they like with each other's funds, so it's not typically yours nor his but anyone can spend anytime they want ..

Hence, if it's not your private key or seed  and you made  use of the address (provided by the private key or seed )then it's not your coin ( simple) until you move it to your wallet address which has it own private key..
Multisig is another option ( probably a 2of3),If you need to share wallet with someone.. and remember not your key not your coin so exchange is  a good example  of sharing your privatekey (indirectly, it'snot like you have a private key either  ), the exchange owns your coin so far it's still on it .

I used to buy loaded coins in the past, but over time, I realized I should move the coins to an address where I have sole control. It only hit me after years, but thankfully, the supplier wasn’t a thief, and my balance was still intact. You know how it is, when I was new, I was so curious and excited to explore everything. Owning a physical coin with a loaded balance was just part of that exploration.

By the way, thanks for sharing! I think I’ve seen that thread before.

I don't see this to be such a big problem, especially coming from someone who created centralized exchange that already shares private keys with all of it's customers. 
If you receive private keys from someone you can always move coins to different address that in unrelated with those keys.
For hardware wallets you can do the same thing, and you can also reset the device after doing that.

It's your private keys, it's your coins, but do any generous person needs to give you private key?

Honestly, if the giveaway, airdrop is legit, it is simple to give it away by sending coins to giveaway hunters with no or simple tasks.

If it is required steps for you to receive it in private keys in files, hardware wallets, there are threats that can infect your devices, and steal your coins on it.

Hardware wallets even if you buy them, you need to buy them a right way. Now its giveaway hardware wallets, do you see potential threats?
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way

Fortunately my skepticism level is really high, whenever I don't feel right or safe, I would force the other party to do what I want, if not I will refuse to make a deal.

What was your reason to bought a physical coin loaded with balance? do you want to buy the collectible or the balance? people who interested with collectible should just bought the coin. There was a case where a trusted member in this forum steal people's money, he sold collectible with loaded balance.

Sharing your seed phrase with others has never been a good act for holders and not even advisable to be exhibited with people we called out loved ones because when the repercussions strikes on our wallets, it could be untraceable when the fund is sent on the self custodial wallets where KYC are not needed during creating the wallet account.
Then everyone becomes suspect to you even th innocent ones will you become enemies of being responsible for your lost.
The clear advice is that let your private keys being your seed phrase remains your secret to you because there're more malwares to fight against and more varieties of conciousness to be abided. All race is to keep your foods secure so trusting your seed phrase to anyone has potential to the lost of your funds.
The warning was a genuine one.

"Not your keys, not your assets" pretty much sums it up perfectly. Knowing this should already encourage crypto holders to move their coins to wallets where only they control the private keys. It’s similar to trusting your coins to an exchange, you might see your balance there, but since you don’t hold the keys, you don’t have full control.

What OP mentioned is even riskier as someone knowing your private key. In that case, your assets are always at risk of being hacked since they have access to your funds. I remember a time in the past when I bought a physical crypto coin loaded with actual balance. It had the address and private key attached to it. Luckily, the amount wasn’t transferred or tampered with, and I managed to sell it safely after three years.

Yeah same me too, even with your trusted friend you dont share it cause that friend might change his motive as your friend and aim your asset. I think as long as you live youll need to be careful about private keys.

A newbie should remember that up to now cause the crypto space is full of dangerous thoughts when it comes to money.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) former CEO of Binance has issued a warning and cautionary message to cryptocurrency holders emphasising on the dangers of accepting assets through private keys or hardware wallets given by others.

In his words; “Recently, I have seen several instances where people receive crypto by receiving a private key or a hardware wallet. This is a bad idea”.
He went on and on about all the disadvantages and dangers that can result from sharing private keys and seed phrases.

He stressed and adviced ; “The giver still has access to those crypto. You should move the crypto to an address you own. Or better, just ask the giver to send it to an address you own,”
He also said;
“Having two people access the same key (or seed) is a bad idea. When those crypto move (or by a hacker), it’s almost impossible to prove who moved it (or got hacked)”.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/binance-founder-cz-warns-receiving-crypto-this-way-could-instantly-empty-your-wallet/

This news got me surprised that at this age and time people are still getting involved in this method Coz one of the first things I learnt about Crypto when I first got onboard was to never share my private keys or seed phrases no matter the transactions.
And for CZ to come out to put a warning, a whole lot of people are doing it.

For the Newbies and others who still doing it. Let this SINK IN!
NEVER SHARE YOUR PRIVATE KEYS/SEEDPHRASES OR RECEIVE ASSESTS THROUGH PRE CONFIGURED WALLETS. It always Ends BADLY.

Even those chasing airdrops it’s important and necessary to not use same wallets for your  hodlings to paste in airdrops coz u might be unlucky and paste in a scam project and all your assets will be wiped Out.

LET’S TAKE THESE WARNINGS VERY SERIOUS.