self-custody

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.

Strive Vice President Joe Burnett posted on platform X that the recent weeks may be among the worst in Bitcoin's history. Many people purchased recognized hardware wallets, generated mnemonic phrases offline, and followed established best practices, yet still lost a significant amount of Bitcoin due to a vulnerability affecting COLDCARD wallet that generated mnemonic phrases since March 2021 and beyond. This vulnerability went undetected for over 5 years.Joe Burnett stated that this will permanently change people's confidence in self-custody. Self-custody will still exist, but it has been permanently altered. For those who wish to directly control a large amount of Bitcoin, the standard should be multi-vendor multi-signature, with keys generated independently using different hardware and different software, and stored in different physical locations. If this approach is unacceptable, then institutional-grade custodians should be used.Joe Burnett mentioned that the current wave of Bitcoin adoption is happening through ETFs, treasury companies, and institutional custodians, primarily from individuals who unintentionally become experts in private key generation, hardware security, firmware, backups, inheritance planning, and physical storage. A single key generated by one hardware wallet protecting a large amount of Bitcoin poses excessive concentration risk.Joe Burnett also stated that institutional custody may ultimately lead to excessive Bitcoin concentration in the hands of large companies, resulting in risks of censorship, seizure, and confiscation. However, Bitcoin's portability and settlement attributes provide a crucial counterbalance, allowing users to create wallets and request custodians to send Bitcoin, transitioning from counterparty risk to direct ownership within minutes.Joe Burnett believes that as long as Bitcoin itself remains secure, the failure of any particular custody method does not negate the underlying monetary system, but rather forces the market to develop better tools, stronger standards, and more resilient custody frameworks. This week may ultimately mark the end of an era for Bitcoin custody and the beginning of the next wave of Bitcoin adoption.

Co-founder of the crypto wallet Solflare, Vidor, posted on the X platform that operations have been halted due to the solvency issues of the card issuer partner Kulipa, and the Solflare Card has suspended services. Vidor emphasized the safety of user funds, as the Solflare Card uses an end-to-end self-custody model—funds are deducted directly from the user's wallet without the need for deposits or top-ups, and no user funds are held by the card issuer.The team had made efforts to help Kulipa find a buyer and explore continuity solutions, but to no avail. A new version of the Solflare Card is in development, which will include features such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, higher limits, and cashback, while still maintaining self-custody, and is expected to launch in a few weeks.

According to The Block, Trezor's Chief Business Officer Danny Sanders refuted recent criticisms of cryptocurrency hardware wallets made by blockchain investigator ZachXBT.Earlier this week, ZachXBT posted on Telegram, "All hardware wallets are complete garbage and I do not recommend using them for important tasks such as signing transactions or storing funds," and suggested that users use a dedicated iPhone to store funds and sign transactions.In response, Sanders acknowledged in an interview that firmware/software updates for hardware wallets can sometimes interfere with urgent or large transactions, and that the user experience can indeed be "clunky," understanding the users' frustration. However, he opposed ZachXBT's blanket statement: while hardware wallets may not be the best single solution for advanced users managing large amounts of funds, they are not garbage.He pointed out that compared to hardware wallets, the operating system and connectivity features of an iPhone present more "attack risks." For the average cryptocurrency user, hardware wallets remain the best self-custody option available.

A court in São Paulo, Brazil ruled that Coinbase must refund nearly $100,000 to a user who claimed that funds deposited in their Coinbase Wallet disappeared in an unauthorized transaction. Coinbase argued that the wallet's private key is entirely controlled by the user, but failed to prove that the transaction was initiated by the wallet holder, nor did it demonstrate the existence of security measures to prevent this outcome.The court made its ruling based on relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Law and ordered Coinbase to refund the full amount along with statutory interest.

According to The Block, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng stated at the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore that after Binance suspended services to some EU users, about 70% of users' withdrawal assets flowed to self-custody wallets, with only 30% transferred to licensed platforms that comply with MiCA regulatory requirements.Richard Teng indicated that this data raises questions about the regulatory goals of MiCA. He pointed out that self-custody wallets are not subject to the anti-money laundering (AML) and KYC regulatory frameworks of regulated trading platforms, and the risk may actually increase once user assets are transferred to self-custody.Previously, Binance proactively withdrew its application for a MiCA license in Greece after it failed to be approved before the July 1 transition deadline, and suspended related services to affected EU users. Richard Teng stated that Binance has not given up on the European market, and several EU countries have invited it to reapply for local licenses, although he did not disclose specific countries.In addition, Richard Teng mentioned that Binance plans to continue accelerating its expansion in the Asian market, having already obtained relevant licenses or permissions in markets such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, India, and Pakistan, and expects to gain more regulatory approvals this year. Currently, Binance's global user base has increased to approximately 323 million.

The New Hampshire House Bill HB639 has completed the registration process. The bill specifies that state and local governments may not restrict individuals from using digital assets for payments or holding assets through self-custody wallets, nor may they impose additional taxes solely for the use of digital assets.At the same time, individuals or businesses operating nodes, engaging in mining or staking activities, are not required to obtain a money transmission license, and such activities are not considered the issuance or sale of securities.

According to CoinDesk, MetaMask has announced the launch of a new self-custody account called "Money Account," which integrates stablecoin earnings, payment consumption, and trading functions into a single wallet system, further promoting its transformation into a comprehensive financial platform.This product is released by Consensys and built on the Monad blockchain, with the core asset being the USD-pegged stablecoin mUSD. Users can earn up to approximately 4% floating annual yield while holding assets, with funds automatically allocated to decentralized lending protocols such as Morpho, and Aave will be integrated later.Unlike traditional DeFi products, this account does not require manual transfers of funds between protocols; earnings automatically take effect after deposit and can be directly used for token exchanges, perpetual contracts, and prediction market trading functions.