Elon Musk opposes custodial wallets for cryptocurrencies

One should avoid crypto wallets that do not give users control over their private keys at all costs, said the founder of Tesla and SpaceX.

He left the message in a comment under a tweet by the custodian-wallet operator FreeWallet, which used Elon Musk’s post about Dogecoin (DOGE) for its own promotion.

“Your app is trash,” added the Tesla CEO.

Any crypto wallet that won’t give you your private keys should be avoided at all costs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2021

It turned out that Musk uses FreeWallet and his account was automatically blocked by the security algorithm. At his request, the account was unlocked.

Please unlock my account

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2021

The Ledger team, maker of hardware wallets, backed Musk’s critique and did not miss the opportunity to promote its products.

“Elon Musk is right, as long as you’re not managing your own private keys, you don’t truly own your #crypto. Our hardware wallets, combined with our app Ledger Live, allow you to own and manage your crypto from one place. (1/2)”

— Ledger (@Ledger) February 10, 2021

Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, reminded in the comments about its Trust Wallet.

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts support the policy \”not your keys, not your coins.\” The most widely custodial wallets are exchange wallets — control of private keys lies on the exchange side.

In 2018, the host of the Bitcoin Knowledge podcast, Trace Mayer, launched the initiative to hold an annual event called Proof of Keys. Under it, users withdraw Bitcoins from exchanges to wallets that belong to them, to remind true owners of the cryptocurrency and ensure that their assets are safe.

As Binance Research notes, more than 92% of institutional investors store their crypto assets on exchanges.

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