self-custody

Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda's co-CEO Christian Trummer stated in Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction program that with the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), European crypto users' trust in regulated platforms has increased. He pointed out that most users trust regulated market participants more than managing private keys themselves.Trummer described the preference for self-custody as a small circle focused on "Crypto Twitter," believing that most users are more inclined to choose regulated service providers. He also called on regulators to enforce MiCA more strictly, stating that some companies are still providing services to European customers without obtaining a MiCA license, putting compliant businesses at a competitive disadvantage.The transition period for existing crypto service providers under MiCA ended no later than July 1, and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) instructed national regulators to take action against unauthorized companies that continue to provide crypto services after the transition period. ESMA subsequently called for stronger regulatory powers to address unauthorized crypto services and third-country companies soliciting business from EU investors without MiCA authorization.

According to The Block, Jeff Yan, co-founder of the decentralized perpetual contract trading platform Hyperliquid, stated during a fireside chat at the Korea Blockchain Week 2026 that around-the-clock trading is not the essential difference between on-chain trading venues and traditional exchanges. He pointed out that cryptocurrencies do not need to adhere to traditional market opening hours because these assets inherently possess international attributes, and some traditional exchanges have already begun to actively extend their trading hours.Yan emphasized that the more enduring value of on-chain finance comes from allowing users to retain control and custody of their funds, which helps to avoid a common single point of failure risk. In his view, once a counterparty, intermediary, or even custodian encounters issues, the ability to self-custody becomes particularly crucial.In addition, transparency constitutes another distinct feature of on-chain trading. Although it does not have a strong appeal in serving ordinary consumers, it is essential for building trust in the entire system. In a system controlled solely by a private organization, users cannot obtain the same level of trust and neutrality guarantees.He also mentioned that for assets lacking publicly available prices during the closing hours of traditional exchanges, continuous trading remains necessary. He cited commodities, stocks, and Pre-IPO targets that had already traded on Hyperliquid before the reference market opened as examples to illustrate that the demand is indeed real.

Spain has confirmed that cryptocurrency assets stored in self-custody wallets do not need to be declared as foreign assets. Cryptocurrency assets held in foreign custodial institutions must be declared if the holding value exceeds 50,000 euros; however, if they are bought on a foreign exchange and sold entirely within the same year, they do not need to be declared.

According to official news, Tether announced a partnership with the fintech company Shiga to utilize its open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK) to launch self-custody financial products for individuals and institutions in Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.The two parties will launch two core products: the self-custody wallet ENTA for individuals and businesses, which supports deposits in fiat currency or Bitcoin, and holds and transfers Tether (USDT), Bitcoin, and Tether Gold (XAUT); and the infrastructure Pulse for banks and financial institutions, aimed at assisting institutions in customizing digital asset services for specific payment channels and fund settlement processes, and supporting institutions in deploying in a private environment to retain key control.In addition, Shiga is currently completing the final approval process for the digital asset license in Nigeria, and once approved, will conduct compliant digital asset trading, brokerage, and custody services in the country.

The Central Bank of Brazil issued resolutions No. 588 and No. 589, requiring virtual asset service providers (VASP) to report self-custody wallet transactions that amount to or exceed $10,000, and to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.Resolution No. 588 stipulates that relevant transaction data will be submitted to the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF). This agency may compile transactions based on this data and establish a self-custody address database to record the asset status of Brazilian users holding cryptocurrencies through authorized centralized exchanges. Resolution No. 589 prohibits conducting business with virtual asset service institutions or entities operating in Brazil without authorization. The new regulations will take effect on October 1, 2026, and currently, only 5 VASPs have applied for licenses to operate in Brazil.

According to the official announcement, Binance.US has announced that the self-custody wallet Binance.US Wallet built into its App is now available to eligible iOS and Android users.Users can switch between the centralized exchange and the wallet without leaving the Binance.US App, and access tens of thousands of tokens and hundreds of DApps, supporting major blockchain networks such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Solana, and Robinhood Chain.

Miden launched the privacy self-custody wallet Bread, supporting iOS, Android, and Chrome, currently running on the Miden testnet. Users can gain mainnet access through the early access list. Miden Wallet is no longer in service.

According to CryptoBriefing, the Bitcoin wallet Xverse has launched a joint Bitcoin staking service, allowing users to pair sBTC with STX tokens to participate in the Stacks PoX-5 locking period. During the staking period, Bitcoin remains on the Bitcoin mainnet and is controlled by the users, without the need for cross-chain or wrapping. This feature requires an upgrade to the Xverse v2.9 version wallet.Registration will close on September 9 or when the quota is used up. Staking rewards are expected to be distributed starting September 10 (Bitcoin block 966350, corresponding to Stacks' 143rd period). Institutions such as UTXO (a subsidiary of Nakamoto Inc.), HashKey Cloud, and 21shares have joined as anchor participants. Previously, Xverse managed approximately 152 million STX in non-custodial staking.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has officially approved the travel rule for crypto assets, requiring digital asset operators to verify the ownership or control of wallets when customers send or receive crypto assets to self-custody wallets, and to retain transaction-related information for at least five years for regulatory review. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, Secretary-General of the Thai SEC, stated that the rule aims to reduce the risk of digital asset operators being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.The new regulations were finalized after two rounds of public consultations this year, with the first round presenting a draft in March and a notification draft released in June. The Thai SEC stated that most stakeholders expressed support. As the travel rule is implemented, Thailand is considering expanding the access to regulated crypto products. On Monday, the Thai SEC proposed allowing intermediaries to offer specific crypto derivatives traded on regulated overseas exchanges to retail investors.In the days prior, regulators also advanced the draft rules for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and simultaneously sought opinions on the foreign digital asset custodians used by funds investing in crypto assets. Thailand's move aligns with global regulatory trends, as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) estimates that by 2026, 83% of surveyed jurisdictions will have enacted travel rule legislation.

Coinkite's hardware wallet Coldcard has been exposed for a serious entropy vulnerability, which has gone undetected since 2021, resulting in over $100 million in Bitcoin being stolen, with victims mostly being users of single mnemonic wallets. The weak entropy allowed attackers to guess private keys through customized means, prompting the Bitcoin community to reassess the reliability of single-signature self-custody.Against this backdrop, multi-vendor multisig solutions are becoming the new custody baseline recommended by long-term holders. This solution requires users to construct multisig addresses using keys from different wallet vendors, such as Trezor Safe 7, Ledger Nano, and Casa recovery keys to form a 2-of-3 multisig, thereby reducing reliance on a single hardware vendor. Multisig can also defend against wrench attacks and has given rise to Bitcoin insurance services priced in BTC, such as AnchorWatch.However, multisig also has its drawbacks; users not only need to keep threshold keys but also need to save copies of the multisig script or template to independently recover funds when the wallet service is offline.

According to Forbes, the scale of the theft in the Coldcard hardware wallet vulnerability incident has risen to approximately $130 million, involving about 2,000 BTC and over 5,200 addresses, reigniting the industry's debate over who should hold private keys. Data from Bitcoin Magazine shows that in the days following the incident, the net inflow into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs was $626 million, with some opinions suggesting that the vulnerability may drive more funds towards ETFs.Reports indicate that supporters of self-custody remain undeterred. Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp stated that confidence in self-custody should not be lost due to recent events, as custodial institutions also rely on random number generators. Bitcoin core early developer Peter Todd noted that the historical record of self-custody is far better than that of third parties. Another viewpoint argues that both reflexive choices have flaws. Onramp co-founder Michael Tanguma stated that if the only answer is Coinbase or ETFs, it poses a serious problem, as centralizing what should be decentralized assets undermines their foundation, advocating for a multi-institutional custody solution where keys are held by multiple regulated entities.

MetaMask launched the self-custody wallet Agent Wallet on Thursday, allowing AI agents to execute on-chain transactions within user-defined limits, aimed at traders and developers using AI agents to monitor the market, identify opportunities, and autonomously execute trades. Users can set spending limits, approve specific protocols, choose risk settings, and select different levels of automation between Guard Mode and Beast Mode.Agent Wallet supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes, OpenCode, as well as Hyperliquid and Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible networks. Agent Wallet supports gas abstraction, allowing users to pay network fees with the assets being transferred, without needing to hold the corresponding native tokens of the network. MetaMask stated that supported transactions will undergo transaction simulation, threat scanning, and smart trading MEV protection, and if qualifying transactions incur losses after passing security checks, they can receive up to $10,000 in Transaction Protection coverage per month.

CZ forwarded Willy Woo's post about Bitcoin loss data, stating that if the data is accurate, from a statistical perspective, exchange-held assets may be safer than self-custodied ones. Exchanges are more likely to be targeted by hackers, making such incidents easier to quantify, while thefts or losses from self-custodied wallets often go unreported, making related data harder to collect.On the other hand, the data from exchanges is also influenced by some exchanges that have already gone bankrupt. Finally, CZ emphasized that no custodial method is absolutely superior; different solutions are suitable for different users, and adopting a balanced asset custody approach may be a better choice. The statistical data previously released by Willy Woo indicates that approximately 1.57 million Bitcoins have been permanently lost due to self-custody. Additionally, around 1.51 million Bitcoins have been lost due to incidents such as hacking attacks and bankruptcies of exchanges.

As the Coldcard hardware wallet exposes firmware vulnerabilities, over 80 million USD in BTC is stolen, and the market re-discusses whether to turn to institutional custody or directly buy Bitcoin ETFs, well-known analyst Willy Woo responded in a post stating that he does not oppose ETFs or custody solutions. They have many benefits in gaining recognition and accessing the traditional financial system, but the uniqueness of Bitcoin lies in the fact that it is the only truly sovereign mature digital asset, without nationality, cannot be blocked, diluted, or confiscated by any country, and only by mastering self-custody can one obtain this attribute.Willy Woo stated that since World War II, the West has mostly lived in a bubble of security, but as Ray Dalio pointed out based on 1500 years of historical research, stability itself is a cycle. When the cycle ends, people will need reserves that can protect them when the world briefly collapses, while custodial assets may fail, and governments may confiscate assets both in the past and in the future. He indicated that we are currently in the later stage of this cycle and recommended allocating 15% of assets to sovereign assets such as Bitcoin and gold.

Binance co-founder CZ retweeted user Rager's experience about hardware wallet failures on the X platform. CZ stated that protecting the wallet backup seed phrase is a highly challenging task.The seed phrase cannot be seen by others, or it may be copied or exploited, and it must not be accidentally damaged by fire, flood, or other incidents, while also preventing hackers from gaining access. More importantly, users themselves must not lose the seed phrase.