As the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based digital assets continues expansion into the mainstream, the conversation around ownership and custody becomes even more important. Typically, users tend to store their cryptocurrencies on exchanges where they do not own the private keys and therefore do not truly have possession of their cryptocurrency.
Every wallet on the blockchain has a public address and corresponding private key. The public address can be used to receive a respective cryptocurrency and look up historical transactions on the ledger. The corresponding private key can be used to gain access to, and send any cryptocurrency contained in a wallet as it is used to sign transactions.
To truly own your cryptocurrency, you must be in possession of the private key. In the early days and development of crypto assets, individuals needed to run a full node wallet to own their keys, which became increasingly cumbersome overtime. The advent of online, non-custodial web wallets has increased accessibility to individuals, ensuring they own their private keys, can access them any time, and remain in full control of their crypto assets.
Notable, non-custodial crypto wallets include:
MEW – My Ether Wallet
My Ether Wallet, also known as MEW, is a free service that allows users to interface with the Ethereum blockchain. With many ways to generate an Ethereum wallet on the customer side, MEW is driving accessibility to the Ethereum ecosystem. As simple to create and use an online wallet, MEW is an excellent tool for people looking for a non-custodial wallet to store their Ethereum and ERC20 tokens.
Blockchain.com
Blockchain.com offers a free crypto wallet that is non-custodial. One of the stalwarts in the crypto space, blockchain.com is considered one of the most popular wallets for users everywhere. With a valid email address and secure password, it is relatively simple to get started with blockchain.com’s wallet offering that has a mobile app and supports multiple languages.
Vidulum App
A newer entrant into space, Vidulum is a multi-asset web wallet that puts users in control of their private keys. With a simple account creation process, anybody can use this non-custodial crypto wallet to store and access their digital assets. Unique to Vidulum, is a reward system, known as v-staking, that rewards users with the applications native cryptocurrency VDL for simply holding specific assets in their wallet. This form of cold staking means that you can passively earn crypto in a wallet you control the private keys too.
No matter which wallet you choose to store your cryptocurrency, it is important to consider custody. The question to ask is, do you own the private keys?
