"Not your keys, not your coins" is a saying in the crypto world. The idea is that whoever holds the private keysPrivate keyA secret number that proves you own the crypto in your wallet. Whoever holds the private key controls the crypto. controls the crypto. If a company holds the keys for you, you are trusting it with your assets.
Where does the saying come from?
The saying caught on after several crypto exchanges collapsed and customers lost access to their assets. The best-known example is FTX, one of the world's largest exchanges, which collapsed in November 2022. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged its founder with diverting customers' funds to his own crypto hedge fund. Customers couldn't withdraw their assets, and the founder was later convicted of fraud.
What does it mean in practice?
The saying is a reminder, not a rule that suits everyone. With Self-custodySelf-custodyHolding the private keys to your crypto in your own wallet, so nobody else controls it but all the responsibility for the keys is yours., you are fully in control, but you also carry all the responsibility. If you lose your seed phraseSeed phraseA list of 12 or 24 words that backs up every key in your wallet, so whoever has the words can restore the wallet and take the crypto., the crypto is gone.
With a CustodianCustodianA company that holds crypto and the keys to it on behalf of customers, such as a licensed crypto exchange., you trust a company. Since MiCAMiCAThe EU regulation on markets in crypto-assets, in force in Iceland since 1 January 2026, which sets the same rules for crypto services across the EEA. took effect, licensed custodians must keep customers' assets separate from their own, so creditors can't claim them in a bankruptcy. That reduces the risk but doesn't remove it.
The questions that matter are these: who holds the keys? Is that company licensed? And would you rather look after the keys yourself or trust someone else with them?
Everything in Myntkaup Learn is written and regularly reviewed by the Myntkaup editorial team. It is for education and is not investment advice. Editorial policy. Updated 18 October 2026.