Scarce Crypto Assets — Store ’em or Lose ‘em!

Will Centralized Custody Solutions Save your Coins or Hurt Bitcoin?

If cryptos were digital elements, Bitcoin (BTC) would be the first digitally scarce element.

Because it’s the first, many globally are slowly but surely using BTC as a way to save and store wealth while speculating on the tech.

As a result, storage facilities that hold BTC are becoming important human capital holdings.

Traditionally people would store wealth in old elements such as gold, antiques, collectible items, real-estate, art, live stock and equity in businesses. Most of which are physical assets that have large central custody systems built around them to improve the efficiency and access.

For example, buying shares in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is a highly profitable way to gain exposure to real-estate and all thanks to REITs centralization of custody.

Today, we have a new store of wealth asset BTC which throws a wrench in the long tradition of centralized wealth storage. One reason for that is BTC is the first digitally scarce asset that anyone can self-custody, meaning we no longer are reliant on central agents to verify that your assets are your assets.

Yet, crypto self-custody does come with risks and a heavy burden of responsibility: