Scammers, hackers, thieves, they are out there! There are plenty of bad actors in the crypto space trying to take control of your crypto. Knowing this, the majority of crypto holders still don’t take the necessary precautions needed to stay safe. It’s time for a security overhaul, and we’re here to show you how the new ShapeShift platform will do just that.
Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto
If you have been following the fallout of crypto exchange FTX, you likely heard the phrase, “Not your keys, not your crypto.” The FTX collapse sent shockwaves through the crypto world, with more and more people in the industry referring to self-custody in light of $8 billion of custodial consumer funds disappearing overnight.
But what exactly does custodial control mean?
Custodial simply means, your crypto holdings are held by a third party一the exchange一 and you are not the sole controller of your assets. All centralized exchanges are custodial, they keep the private keys to your wallet—not you! Instead, you get login details (often an email and password) for the platform to access your funds. While this might be practical and hassle-free for crypto newbies, you are entrusting your crypto to a middleman with no access to the private keys. If the exchange is hacked, censored, goes bankrupt, or becomes insolvent, your funds will often meet the same fate.
With FTX, they operated no differently than any other centralized exchange in that they held onto users’ wallets and keys for them. This meant access to funds depended on the exchange’s ability to send it—which became problematic once FTX ran into its “liquidity crisis”. Sadly, this is not the first instance of an exchange absconding or misappropriating consumer funds. In 2018, Mt. Gox had a record-breaking 650,000 Bitcoins stolen from users. The company filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. Mt. Gox was considered the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange at its peak handling 70%-80% of the trading volume at the time.
In contrast, a non-custodial wallet gives you full control of your funds and can often offer the exact same utility as a custodial entity. Self-custody is the pinnacle of every true crypto enthusiast. Holding your own keys does come with responsibility though: you are the only one to hold those private keys and ensure the safety of your seed phrase.
Enter: the open source, community-owned, no KYC ShapeShift platform. Offering a variety of different non-custodial wallet options for users to choose from, easily trade over 5000+ crypto assets cross-chain directly on our platform. Financial sovereignty is at the centre of our ethos, and we’re doing everything possible to put the power back in your hands.
Why is this important to understand? Because for the world’s new financial system to be honest, open, borderless, and resilient, it must be sovereign down to an individual level. Every person has the right to interact openly without political prejudice or arbitrary restraint. When you control your own keys, you are expressing this virtue.
A Better, Safer & New Alternative
What if we told you that you could manage your crypto on our free, non-custodial crypto portfolio management platform while:
💰Staying in control of your crypto by connecting with non-custodial wallets
🤑Earning the same APY (or higher)
🔑Maintaining control of your data and privacy (no KYC, no tracking)
🆓Not paying additional fees–our app is free
🏦Never risking your funds being frozen
Our decentralized, community-owned platform has no infrastructure holding your data. It's just you, your funds and the blockchain. We are powered by THORChain, CoWSwap and Ox providing native swaps, MEV protection and aggregation.
Our platform is fully non-custodial, putting you in control of your funds at all times. All you need to do is connect from one of the 150+ available wallet options or create a ShapeShift native wallet to explore the DeFi universe. Buying, selling, earning and tracking your crypto portfolio all in one place has never been easier.
Following the transition to a DAO and releasing our open-source platform, we have made it our goal to continue offering cross-chain swapping capability of THORChain to our users with no added fees. This makes the ShapeShift ecosystem the best place to use THORChain with no added fees. THORChain supports swaps between seven major crypto ecosystems allowing you to easily trade cross-chain in a frictionless, decentralized, trustless way.
Learn how to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies completely non-custodial!
Need More Crypto?
You can easily on-ramp to crypto with a debit/credit card or a bank transfer on our platform, including BTC, ETH, ATOM, AVAX, USDC, AAVE, LINK, UNI, DAI, BUSD, and more! Check out the full list of supported assets. We are offering more on/off-ramp solutions and digital assets than ever before—positioning ShapeShift to be your one-stop Web3 dashboard.
You can easily buy and sell cryptocurrency via one of our trusted partners OnRamper, Banxa, JunoPay (buy only) and most recently Mt. Pelerin. Watch the quick video below on the available fiat ramps on our platform.
Take Back Control
Blockchain technology is an incredible space full of impactful innovation and collaboration. It empowers communities to take back control of their financial journeys and disrupts the status quo. At ShapeShift, we are excited to lead the crypto revolution by helping create and facilitate a borderless financial system built on open, decentralized protocols.
Cryptocurrencies were not just born out of economic necessity一they were born out of ideologies and philosophies that on a fundamental level, we were in need of a freer and smarter form of money. Bitcoin was recognized as a tool that could be a borderless currency, create cheaper transactions and advance ease of use in exchanging value.
With hackers running rampant and popular exchanges getting hacked or mismanaged, it’s more important than ever to control your private keys. The main appeal for using exchanges are their powerful tools and ease of use. ShapeShift offers many of the same features—letting you hold your own crypto while still getting the best user experience possible—try app.shapeshift.com today and see for yourself!
Closing Thoughts
We believe the best way to serve the decentralized ecosystem is to be decentralized, eschewing the confines and limitations of strict corporate hierarchy and welcoming all innovative minds into the fold. Self-sovereignty is at the heart of our ethos and we will continue to empower our users to have freedom, choice and liberty in their financial choices.
We have compiled some of the top cryptocurrency security tips to help you stay safe in this fast-paced crypto world.
Your Keys, Your Crypto!
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