Self-custody
Self-custody means you hold the private keys to your crypto yourself, usually backed up as a seed phrase, so that only you can move it.
Also called non-custodial wallet, self-custodial wallet, self custody
A self-custody wallet, also called non-custodial, creates keys that only you hold. The backup is a seed phrase, normally 12 or 24 words. Anyone with those words controls the funds. No company keeps a copy, so no company can reset it for you.
Example. You withdraw winnings from a casino to a wallet app on your phone. When you set it up, you wrote the 12-word phrase on paper. Your phone breaks. You install the wallet on a new phone, type in the 12 words, and your funds are there. Without the words they would be gone for good.
What people get wrong. Self-custody only protects coins while they are in your wallet. The moment you deposit to a casino, they are in a custodial account and the casino controls them. Your own wallet does not make a casino safer. It makes the money you have not deposited safer.
The second mistake is the seed phrase. Real support staff never ask for it. Anyone who does, in chat, by email or on a "wallet verification" site, is trying to steal from you.
Warning
Transactions cannot be reversed. Send a small test amount first when you use a new address.
Related terms
- Custodial wallet
A custodial wallet is one where a company holds the private keys and controls the crypto for you, as an exchange or a casino account does.
- Hot wallet
A hot wallet is a crypto wallet whose keys are kept on a device or server connected to the internet, which makes it quick to use but easier to attack.
- Stablecoin
A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to hold a steady value, most often one US dollar, such as USDT or USDC.
- Network fee
A network fee is what a blockchain charges to process a transaction, and it is set by the network and how busy it is, not by the casino.