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Self Custody Meaning

Self-custody is the practice of an individual holding the private keys to their own digital assets, rather than entrusting them to a third-party exchange or custodian. This embodies the "Not your keys, not your coins" philosophy, placing the user in total control of their wealth.

It eliminates the risk of a centralized platform freezing funds or going bankrupt, but it shifts the entire burden of security and backup onto the user.The architectural requirement for self-custody is a Non-Custodial Wallet, where the software (or hardware) generates the private keys locally on the device. When a user initiates a transaction, the signing process happens entirely within their own environment; the network only sees the completed, signed message.

This ensures that no intermediary ever has the power to censor a transaction or misappropriate the assets, making it the most sovereign way to interact with a blockchain.While empowering, self-custody is the primary source of "Permanently Lost" coins in the crypto ecosystem. If a user loses their seed phrase or fails to secure their device against malware, there is no "Password Reset" or insurance claim possible.

As a result, the industry is moving toward "Hybrid Custody" solutions, such as Social Recovery and MPC (Multi-Party Computation) wallets, which attempt to provide the security of self-custody with the safety nets found in traditional banking.

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Important Disclaimer:

Finery Markets BVI Limited (“Finery Markets”) provides software, technology infrastructure, and related Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services on a Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) basis. Finery Markets acts solely as a software vendor and does not operate a trading platform, does not intermediate, match, execute, clear, or settle transactions, and does not engage in any activities that would require regulatory authorisation under applicable laws.

Finery Markets’ software is non-custodial and is provided exclusively to licensed institutional entities that act as independent operators of their own environments. All counterparties are solely responsible for establishing and maintaining their own bilateral trading and settlement relationships. Finery Markets is not a party to any such arrangements and assumes no responsibility for the conduct, verification, or compliance obligations of any users of the software.

Nothing on this website shall be construed as a financial promotion, investment advice, or an offer to engage in regulated activities. Access to and use of the software is strictly limited to clients who have entered into a software licensing agreement with Finery Markets. Persons located in jurisdictions where such access is restricted should not rely on this website or any of its contents.

Additional notice to UK visitors: This website and associated communications are not intended to constitute a financial promotion under The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) and related guidance. Access to services provided by Finery Markets is limited to regulated entities, professional clients and eligible counterparties as set out by the Financial Conduct Authority. UK users are not permitted to use this website for the services of Finery Markets if they don't fall within these categories.