[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":49},["ShallowReactive",2],{"navigation_docs_en":3,"-en-decisions-why-selfcustody":14,"-en-decisions-why-selfcustody-surround":48},[4],{"title":5,"path":6,"stem":7,"children":8,"page":13},"Decisions","\u002Fen\u002Fdecisions","en\u002Fdecisions",[9],{"title":10,"path":11,"stem":12},"Why \"self custody\"","\u002Fen\u002Fdecisions\u002Fwhy-selfcustody","en\u002Fdecisions\u002Fwhy-selfcustody",false,{"id":15,"title":10,"body":16,"description":40,"extension":41,"links":42,"meta":43,"navigation":45,"path":11,"seo":46,"stem":12,"__hash__":47},"docs_en\u002Fen\u002Fdecisions\u002Fwhy-selfcustody.md",{"type":17,"value":18,"toc":36},"minimark",[19,23,27,30,33],[20,21,10],"h1",{"id":22},"why-self-custody",[24,25,26],"p",{},"In crypto, self-custody means holding your own keys instead of leaving your assets on\nan exchange: \"not your keys, not your coins.\" If the exchange freezes withdrawals, gets\nhacked, or goes bankrupt, custody was the difference between an inconvenience and a loss.",[24,28,29],{},"That principle does not stop at coins. Your messages, your code, your DNS queries, your\nphotos, your identity — most of it sits in someone else's custody, governed by their\nterms of service, their jurisdiction, and their business model. The same question\napplies: if this third party locked you out tomorrow, what would you lose?",[24,31,32],{},"This site uses \"self custody\" in that broader sense: removing third-party trust\ndependencies from your digital life where it is practical to do so. Crypto key\nmanagement is in scope — it is the canonical example of the principle — but it is one\ntopic among many, alongside running your own VPN, hosting your own messaging, and\nmoving your code off centralised platforms.",[24,34,35],{},"\"Practical\" is doing real work in that sentence. Self-hosting everything is a full-time\njob, and some third parties earn the trust placed in them. The guides here document\nwhere the tradeoff was worth it — for one specific setup, honestly, including the costs.",{"title":37,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":39},"",2,[],"The name comes from crypto; this site uses the broader sense of the term.","md",null,{"lastReviewed":44},"2026-07-10",true,{"title":10,"description":40},"2tkBCBCCbFN-l75-dwqvDCsBcdieoD8UAPBNIKGdLSs",[42,42],1792693626937]