Why Self-Custody is a Must? My Bitcoin journey through lost wallets and closed exchanges!

There are many reasons to use self-custody with Bitcoin, but here are my reasons based on my experiences (the full list is much longer):

1. In the past, I opened a wallet on Blockchain.com. I transferred some BTC there and later moved it to my self-custody hardware wallet. Recently, I found access to some of my old wallets on the internet, so I decided to check them out for nostalgia. I logged into Blockchain, but there was no activity history for any of my transactions. It even asked me to enter my phone number for verification which wasn’t required last time. In short, they erased my activity. If my Bitcoin had still been there, it could have been lost.
2. I also had another wallet on wallet.btc.com, which no longer exists. When I visited BTC.com, it redirected me to cloverpool.com. When I tried to log in, it asked for my phone number, and my usual email and password login didn’t work. If I remember correctly, I used their service for mining and transferred my mining earnings to my wallet on Blockchain, and eventually to my hardware wallet. Luckily, I did, because otherwise, my Bitcoin would have been lost.
3. I bought Bitcoin on exchanges like LocalBitcoins and VirWoX and always transferred it to my hardware wallet, which I learned from this Bitcoin subreddit. To be honest, it felt like extra steps and a bit annoying, However, this step is crucial because every single exchange I used back then is now out of business! I used to think people who owned exchanges must be very wealthy since they had so much Bitcoin to sell. But now, they’re gone, while my Bitcoin is safe in my hardware wallet.

Remember, “Not your keys, not your coins.” If you can’t afford to lose your Bitcoin on an exchange when Bitcoin reaches $1 billion USD someday, do yourself a favor and be your own bank with Bitcoin. It may feel like an extra step at first, but eventually, it becomes a part of you.

Thanks for reading! It feels great to give back to the Bitcoin community for all it’s given me, without asking for anything in return. Thanks again, and may Bitcoin be with you!