Topic: The message remains consistent from January to December (Read 228 times)

I'm wondering why this message hasn't changed from time to time, knowing that centralized exchanges like Binance and other popular CEXs could actually make us lose money by keeping our assets there, but another type of exchange like DEX isn't that popular compared with CEX. I mean, some hybrid exchanges also offer the efficiency of centralized exchanges while at the same time acting as a non-custodial exchange like DEX but with more advantages. You deposit your assets into a smart contract instead of the exchange's hot wallet. My question is, can in the future the message change to "Use Hybrid Exchange, where you can still keep your assets because you keep the private key and trade like a boss?" Can hybrid exchange become more popular in the future and act as a solution for current issues?

Pity for anyone on this forum who is caught up in any exchange issues regarding keeping their coins in them is a waste of time and emotion. This is one of the first lessons that I learnt when I joined this forum, that we should not keep our coins in exchanges, if it's not your keys it's not your coins. The recent issues with top exchanges, like you mentioned is very worrisome, another example is Patricia, an exchange, in Nigeria, that was hacked sometime this year, till now their customers can not get there funds.

Thanks OP for this important reminder, it is good that we hear it once in a while, so it'll always be fresh in our memories.

I love this stories and I love when people publicize them more as they create more awareness for investors especially the beginners to know how awful centralised exchanges are or any centralised service providers, just recently there were reports of Binance Exchange putting restrictions on people accounts due to an incident of a mixer getting seized by the government. While I'm not against them protecting their platform against the federal government but that incident should serve as a warning to those still trusting CEX and keeping their coins in exchanges, that they don't own those coins until they're moved off the exchange to private wallets.

We have alot of good wallets that we can choose from and they're easy and comfortable to use so there's no excuses of not knowing which wallets to use or not having comfort with them. You have the forum at your disposal that you can ask questions anytime you want and be guided by experienced members on here. We have hardware wallets that are the most recommended especially when you're thinking of long term investment and we also have online wallets that when use properly, can do the job perfectly. Electrum is a perfect example as when used in an airgapped device, you'll not be at a risk of getting hacked and you can be guaranteed a 100% ownership of your coins unlike the exchanges. Bitcoin is a decentralised cryptocurrency as such is meant to stay decentralised with the use of non constodial services.

I've actually heard of funds been stolen from users account on exchanges, mainly through hack but not in this manner. There was no deposit or withdrawal history of the missing funds, could it be that Binance stole the fund or the user made up the story? Because that's the only thing I could think of right now. Well, this is what you get when you trust centralized exchanges with the self keeping of your funds. "Not your keys, not your coins". Self custody has always been the best method.

To people who don't understand what Bitcoin is, it's pointless to repeat what's wrong and what's right - it's like saying something to a rock, completely meaningless. But I don't see what the problem is at all, if someone wants to entrust their property to someone else for safekeeping, let them do it.


But sir, aren't the funds SAFU? If the big leader has $4.3 billion to pay for his freedom, how come he doesn't have $15k to help the poor bastard who just listened to him and kept his coins where the big leader advised him?



Still advising people to use Ledger? Then I guess you agree that these same users should use the recovery feature and share their seed with Ledger and others to whom they will pay $9.99 every month for that "service"?

Bitcoin was purposefully created to give users financial freedom and security from the middle man, but some users after owning bitcoin they go on handing it over to the middle through the behavior of leaving their coins in centralized exchanges. At this level you don't have to feel pity for such people they knew the consequences, not that they are ignorant of previous horrid and frightful experiences of others  who were holding their coins in CEX.

The slogan, " not your keys not your coins" is a motto that rarely any crypto enthusiasts would say they have no knowledge of, how much more someone with coins worth  $15k, when exactly will people learn?.  For the CEX it's their home,  they have cleaned up all traces as simple as that and as an individual you'll have no concrete evidence to prove your allegation making any class action a step in futility.

If this message is broadcast regularly, but you see the consequences of loss in people who did not listen to it, why do you care about them? Are your funds in order? You know that storage on centralized exchanges is not safe. You took a noble step by telling some people about the safety of their funds. But do you see a blank wall in front of you? In that case, just let people decide what to do next. Some people need their mistakes and their lessons; this way, they are remembered much better. You shouldn’t be intrusive; if people don’t hear or know how to read, life will show them its lessons. Following the nature of Bitcoin, freedom comes first.

Clean internet environment my foot, do not go for any hardware wallet that needs the internet to transact, this is why I believe that Air-gapped devices are the best, I like hardware wallet that gives no more for PC connection, like no WIFI, no Bluetooth, no Cables, even if there is any new updates available for your hardware wallet, it's not safe to use a PC and cable because you can't know if the PC is already infected or not.

This is why I choose to go with few numbers of hardware wallet in crypto space, especially the ones that can self destruct when someone decides to tampared with them, choose your crypto hardware wallet wisely.

I posted this on other threads, but I will write it here again. I have been in a Bitcoin Facebook group for a year, maybe. People ask what wallet they should store their Bitcoin and other altcoins. The most common comments on those posts are from Binance and Kucoin. Whenever I try to correct them they say those are just centralized exchanges and you shouldn't store your coins where you do not have full access to your coins. Most of the time, I end up being trolled by them because their argument is that those exchanges have been running for many years and are trusted enough. Sometimes, I felt stupid because I argued with them.

People understand at some point. But I tried to convince them many times. The problem is, the number of people who understand where should store their coins is not too big. 90 peoples were suggesting Binance and 10 of was saying to use Electrum. If 90 of them start trolling 10 of us, we are nothing against them.

Many people are attracted to these exchanges by bonuses and several enticing benefits that they promise. They fail to understand that these platforms are not safe but are just using these benefits to lure unsuspected investors. The advice of keeping funds in noncustodial wallets will be valid till the end of time. Not your keys, not your coins might sound simple but it is a powerful message that should be practiced judiciously.

Many conventional banks are insured by Deposit insurance so depositors can get a refund of their deposit if the bank goes bankrupt. The government also ensure that banks comply with regulatory laws and that their accounts always go through periodic audits. But all these measures have not also stopped banks from going down the drain. Exchanges are worst and should be avoided. Keeping huge funds in exchanges is like leaving your funds in an unregulated bank. Most of the audit reports they present are not verifiable and they also engage in sharp business practices. Except hacked funds are traced and recovered depositors in exchanges will likely never get their money back.

We could argue that this message has remained consistent through the decade, instead of the year. The problem is that no one teaches someone else's head, and it is hard to warn those who haven't suffered bankruptcies like the ones of MtGox, Cryptopia, FTX, etc.

The best practice to date, when someone has collected a few coins, is to buy a hw and be your own bank. That's the philosophy underlying all this crypto-thing, and the safest (if you don't burn your house with the keys inside) taking into account how vulnerable third parties have proved to be.

In other words it is nothing like keeping your money in a bank!!!
And your question is the biggest problem with exchanges. All those regulations the governments apply to exchanges is to only monitor user activities, not to provide them with any kind of security. Of course the exchanges give all kinds of empty promises to attract customers but in the end if they want to run away or if they get hacked, it is users that would lose money.

Leaving asset on exchange is like keeping money in the bank, although in the bank it's more safer because if anything happens to your money the bank will take responsibility for it but if I keep my coin on crypto exchange and the exchange gets hacked, there's nothing I can do to get back my money. Is there any authority that are in charge to make those hacked exchange resend customers lost asset?

There are people who still have a Faith upon Centralized exchange especially Tier 1 and Binance is on the top in this matter. I know some users who saying that Binance is more safe than software wallet (LOL). We use Binance only for P2P service and for daily trading purpose and for long term holding Binance is 100% risky.


Binance customer support replied on his tweets that he doesn't confirmed reactivations and chat closed before affirmation. I hope he will get back his money.

That's the consistent message not just throughout the year 2023 but throughout the entire existence of centralized exchanges. Not only are exchanges hacked, they also went bankrupt, and they may also disappear into thin air all of a sudden. And then there's also the locking and freezing and suspension of accounts and features. And then there's also the wrong way of using centralized exchanges. They're trading platforms. They're not wallets for us to leave our funds.

"Not your keys, not your bitcoins". This reminder has been here many years and through many years of Bitcoin market history, many exchanges came with us and disappeared. Their disappearances can be a scam exit, a hack causes a shut down of service, a seizure by government or a self service closure.

The general common thing is if you leave your bitcoin on those dead exchanges and failed to withdraw your coins, you lost your coins.

Bitcoin Q&A: Not your Keys, Not your Coins
Exchange graveyard

For some people who understand the risks it's a message while who are having blind trust on these CEX it's just a normal post so different perspectives but once you get into that situation and even loose few bucks you will realize the true meaning of not your keys not your coins.The best solution is to keep your coins under your possession only with seeds backup safely at secure place but if you are seeing exchange safe then go read the market news where they are going bankrupt and hacking cases are exposed.

Hmm, OP the message is not the same from JAN to DEC it will be the same from the day of being in the Bitcoin community to infinity or the end of the time. But the point is if you cant afford a hardware wallet and just entered providing some service and accumulating Bitcoin from there better still prefer your custody. The Exchanges hot wallets are digital numbers that can never be expected as real-time assets but in your custody will be always on-chain, authentic assets with ownership you possess in real-time.

The more you are capable of spending in security you should, the more you prefer a separate system while interacting with the wallets, and traders from the one you are using for social media and day-to-day tasks. It will help improve your vulnerabilities in phishing attacks.

As a community, we emphasize on the need to store one’s seed phrase offline. It’s even more important that you choose a wallet that gives you complete control over your funds. Which is why we advocate for non custodial wallets and hardware wallets for storing large amounts of Bitcoins instead of exchanges. I often wonder how come people still make these mistakes, Bitcoin isn’t “new” anymore, there is a decade worth of information and experiences of people in the crypto space. From MtGox to FTX, exchanges have proven to be unreliable for hodling bitcoins. Exchanges are good for one thing, buying and selling coins. The smart thing to do after making purchases, is to transfer your coins to your non custodial wallet.

At the moment I don't really think I will feel much pity for anyone who will fall victim of CEX and if such victim is a member of Bitcointalk then no pity because even before the mass public started seeing the reasons not to save their coins on CEX, we here have been taught and given reasons why we should avoid CEX, Thank God though that everyone is almost seeing it crystal clear now, the reasons for avoiding saving coins in CEX especially after the whole FTX crisis and binance being found guilty of the charge by SEC this year.
 $15000 is a really huge amount of money, now wondering if this victim has not heard about not saving on CEX or at least only keep only small amounts for your basic spending