How many millions of dollars would you have to lose to learn not to put coins on exchanges?
Original | Liu Jiaolian
The recent cases of coin theft are worrying. Not only are the owners generally losing more than one million dollars, almost all of their net worth, but the platforms involved are not small second-tier or third-tier platforms, but big first-tier companies (exchanges) that have been trusted by users for so many years, or well-known brands that have always flaunted their technical prowess, which is really shocking.
The first is the 5.24 million dollar asset stolen by JiaoChain introduced in {6.4 see}Binanceusers. Teaching Chain also wrote an article on this in 6.5 {“Blockchain Security “Chain of Doubt”} to tell all readers and friends about a model and method for analyzing blockchain asset security.
Then it was mentioned in {6.10 References} last night,OKXThe user's account assets were completely looted, and the loss was close to 5 million (RMB or USD, the owner didn't make it clear). This was on June 9th.
The third case is what {see 6.9} says,Loopring(Luyin) smart wallet was hacked. The hackers didn't know what method they used to break through Luyin's two-factor authentication (2FA) system and successfully stole assets stored by some Luyin smart wallet users. This is for the entire smart wallet circuit, includingEthereumoriginatorsVitalik ButerinThe “abstract wallet” related products that have always been highly recommended are probably quite a blow.
Stolen coins returned to poverty overnight, just like contracts bursting out. Those facing the shock must have instantly gone blank in their minds, and the whole world suddenly became extremely quiet. Just like the human bomb at the beginning of {“American Civil War”}, the shock wave of the sudden explosion instantly deaf the survivors' ears. The background music and loud vocals came to an abrupt halt, and the scene suddenly became quiet and scary. (Maybe only in a movie theater can you get this kind of sudden and quiet contrast experience, which is great)
When you feel refreshed, what flavor comes to your mind again? Heartache? Helpless? Confused?
May the world be free of thieves? That's impossible and unrealistic.
What to do? Withdraw coins. Keep your private keys for yourself. Try it out, {"How to use private key storageBitcoin”}. {The “chain of doubt” theory} has told you, don't try to rely on any third party platforms.
Bitcoin's inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, already made it clear to everyone in the {2008 white paper} that the only reason Bitcoin was born was to “get rid of third parties”: “What we need is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof rather than trust, that allows any willing party to directly trade with each other without the need for a trusted third party.”
Former Binance owner CZ, who claims to be a firm believer in “decentralization,” tweeted on 2020.1.19 (original comment removed; screenshot of Cointelegraph's report below) to warn Xiaobai users: it's safer to put coins on our platform.
In his original words, “Many hardcore cryptographers [organizations] promote storing their own keys. But the truth is, most people today can't keep their keys secure, or even prevent losing them. For most people, trusted centralized exchanges are safer. The statistics themselves speak for themselves. It takes work on your wallet.”
The education chain needs to ask a question: Statistics show that 100% of human babies are unable to walk upright when they are first born, so it can be concluded that all babies should stop learning to walk and always use strollers made by major manufacturers for transportation?
It's certainly true that babies need a stroller after birth. But more important than this fact is that they all need to learn to walk independently when they are around 1 year old, otherwise they will always be weak.
What is “independent” walking? That is, there is no need to rely on any third person, any assistive devices, such as crutches, such as wheelchairs. People who have grown up and are still unable to walk independently are called disabled people.
There are no physical limitations to having your own private keys; the only limitations are intellectual and psychological.
If you can't throw away that psychological cane, you'll always have to rely on it to barely walk.
However, this psychological support is not 100% reliable forever. As a result, you can rely on it, and in the end, you will be unreliable.
When Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin, he wanted everyone to stand on their own feet.
Looking back a thousand years later, maybe future generations will lament that today's humans have learned to master private keys and control Bitcoin themselves. Their position in the history of human evolution is no less than 3 million years ago when Australopithecus learned to walk upright, or tens to millions of years ago, humans learned to control and use fire.
At the beginning of 2022, a netizen's post on reddit can be viewed as a summary. The title of the post was, “If I put money on Binance (Binance), how likely is it to be lost?”
The original post is as follows:
“Please don't attack my ignorance. I'm asking a serious question.
“A lot of people in the crypto world recommend moving assets to cold wallets. I understand what they do and why.
“However, keeping my assets in a Binance spot wallet makes my transactions more efficient and everyday life more convenient.
“In fact, I'm considering moving more money to Binance. Either way, inflation is killing my fiat money.
“But I don't know if this is really as risky as people say it is. I don't think the chances of Binance getting hacked are any greater than my bank being hacked. Binance has made so much money that their level of security has probably reached astronomical numbers. As long as I keep 2FA (two-factor authentication) and don't fall into phishing traps, I'll be fine.
“I think the only potential problem is that ordinary banks are more strictly regulated, and even if the bank disappears, I can guarantee that a certain amount of money will be recovered. And Binance, if it disappears... I think I'm going to lose everything
“But... does this possibility exist? Is it more likely than the collapse of society as a whole?
“After reading your wonderful reviews, I came to the conclusion:
“Binance is pretty secure. However: It sometimes closes withdrawals for certain currencies (but you can still trade), sometimes locks/blocks accounts for unknown reasons, and their support/communication isn't the best.
“It's nice to keep your trading funds there, but objectively speaking, it's safer to keep your HODL (long-term holdings) and staked funds in your own wallet. If you don't like cold wallets, you should at least spread your assets across multiple exchanges.
“Also, always remember: “It's not your private key, it's not your coin.”
(Official account: Liu Jiaolin. (Knowledge Planet: Reply to “Planet” on the official account)
(Disclaimer: Nothing in this article constitutes investment advice. Cryptocurrency is an extremely risky breed, and there is a risk that it will return to zero at any time, so please participate carefully and be responsible for yourself.)
