A popular phrase that emphasises the need for cryptocurrency owners to store their crypto in their non-custodial wallets, not in the wallets of central exchanges. Non-custodial wallets offer their owners complete control over the assets stored, a feature not replicated with central exchanges. Control is very important, especially with money. Look back to this time last year in Nigeria when the New Naira notes went into circulation and an outlaw on the old notes was issued. People needed their money to do business or buy commodities but couldn't. Their money was stuck with the banks who were very slow to release physical cash in their ATMs.

The people did not have control over their money but were at the mercy of the banks. This is similar to the situation traders face with central exchanges. When a central exchange is under scrutiny or has been breached, it limits customer withdrawals. In the face of a crisis, customers must wait for the central exchange to open withdrawals and remove all restrictions placed, which happens too late in most cases.

Remember FTX? SBF got 25 years in prison for his troubles but even that doesn't seem like true justice for what he did. Bankman-Fried and his now-defunct crypto exchange FTX lost $8 billion in customer funds after its collapse. All the customers who had assets on FTX could not withdraw their funds when the collapse happened because there were no funds. FTX had a liquidity hole which nobody knew of. FTX went wild with customer funds during the first bull run because they believed the money was easily recoverable. They made ridiculous marketing decisions such as purchasing the naming rights for the Staples Centre in Los Angeles for $135 million over 19 years.

FTX was the primary custodian of all the funds on their platform. Central exchanges provide each account holder with wallet addresses connected to the exchange which facilitates easy transfers, deposits and withdrawals. Each wallet has a unique key called a private key which is like the pin code to your bank account. If someone has the pin code to your bank account, they can pretty much do anything they want with your money. Withdraw directly from an ATM or bank, spend it online, or just rob you blind. This is pretty much the same case for a private key. It's the secret key that gives you access to spend your crypto, move your crypto, as well as prove you actually own it. For the same reasons you don't just give your pin code out to anyone, you also should never give your private key to anyone

When you create a non-custodial wallet, you will always be reminded that you should never reveal your private keys to anybody. If you reveal it, you are essentially giving the people access to your assets and that is a cardinal sin in crypto trading. Just as with every other private thing in life, your private keys are for your viewing only. Do not trust anyone who wants to see your private keys for they are most likely waiting to scam you.

Stay safe when you are trading.