Introduction
In 2026, two incidents exposed different risks of self-custody. In one, the keys generated by a hardware wallet were themselves flawed. In the other, a government agency publicly disclosed the recovery phrase for a wallet it had seized.
Together, these incidents show that in self-custody, the wallet owner bears full responsibility for managing the wallet. Whether funds are lost through a mistake or a manufacturing defect, there is no company to compensate the owner, and broad insurance coverage for individual self-custody is virtually nonexistent. Yet some people have little choice but to use self-custody, and this guide was written for them.
Self-custody cannot necessarily be described as safer than entrusting funds to a reliable institution. This guide therefore draws on how institutions and governments address cryptocurrency custody to outline safeguards that individuals can reasonably manage. Readers who already use self-custody and need items to check immediately may begin with Chapter 5.
Read the full report (Korean PDF)
