Have you ever heard the term – “not your keys, not your token”? For those who have not heard it or do not understand it, it highlights the importance of owning cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other items stored on blockchain. Many people do not understand that they do not have complete ownership of their digital assets. In fact, studies show that most people do not really care about the nitty-gritty of technological solutions as long as they work well.
This article will explain how the current crypto and NFT ownership structure works, including how the current system trades scalability for user control. It will also explain how the Tectum SoftNote Wallet can enable people to take complete possession of their tokens.
What is a Blockchain Wallet?
To fully understand the ownership of digital assets, we have to examine how people attain such ownership. The best place to start is the medium that certifies possession of virtual items – blockchain wallets. In the decentralized network, the presence of a token (either fungible or non-fungible) in your wallet affirms your claim to that token. While there are other ways to confirm the relationship, the presence of the asset in your wallet is a good place to start.
So, what is a blockchain wallet? A blockchain wallet is a physical or digital device that serves as a medium for storing and managing cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and other assets stored on a decentralized network. This is the most encompassing definition of Web3 wallets, and it accounts for the different forms of wallets available today.
Types of Blockchain Wallets
The different types of wallets play essential roles in the degree of possession and control that people have over their assets. This is why this article is taking them into consideration. That said, what are the different types of blockchain wallets in relation to ownership?
While there are various forms, the two major kinds are custodial and noncustodial wallets. Through a proper explanation of how they work, people will get to understand how they affect control.
Noncustodial Wallets
These were the very first types of blockchain wallets. Noncustodial wallets gave users complete control of their assets. This is because the user holds the private keys that facilitate every other process. As explained in a previous article about making a Bitcoin Payment Without a Blockchain Wallet, the private key is everything. Since they hold the private keys, they could easily add various tokens to their portfolio.
They only had to make sure that the network supporting the token was available or compatible with that of the wallet. If the wallet supports a network, the user can manually add the network to the wallet and begin trading such tokens. People are spoiled for options and hardly fully utilize the possibilities asscoiated with this wallet.
Custodial Wallets
The initial types of wallets were very complex and difficult for the average person to use. People can easily lose their funds whenever they make a simple mistake. Considering the technical nature of noncustodial wallets, several individuals were defaulting and losing their assets.
Furthermore, it is very difficult to buy Bitcoin using MasterCard or any other direct means. The medium of getting cryptocurrencies was through peer-to-peer transfer. In this regard, people have to either join a decentralized exchange pool or look for someone willing to sell their tokens. This is what led to the rise of a more simplified medium of storage.
Custodial wallets are a form of blockchain wallet where the owner of the digital assets does not hold the private keys. Instead, it is a third party that holds the keys. The rise of custodial wallets was due to the complex nature of holding and spending cryptocurrencies. Centralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges are very good examples of custodial wallets.
Why is Complete Ownership of Digital Assets Important?
So far, we have been hammering on “complete ownership of digital assets. It is almost seeming like we intend to start our own human rights movement. Especially when you consider the current options are working seamlessly. Well, it is important to know that the current options are far from efficient in protecting user assets. There have been several casualties and near-misses to back this claim.
A very good example is the Binance scandal involving the CEO – CZ. The saving grace of the crypto exchange and its users is that there was a system in place to protect stakeholders. However, this was not the case with FTX, BlockFi, Gemini Trust, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, and several other ventures that have folded or suffered losses. This article does not in any way point fingers at these ventures as failures, as many of them packed up because of reasons beyond their control.
If these individuals had complete ownership of their assets, the company would not be able to spend into user liquidity. The worst case would have been the exchange seeking the consent of shareholders’ permission before spending the funds. Even though people would get burned, they would do it with their knowledge. Nobody would have to wake up to horrible news about that the platform where they stored their hard-earned money has folded up.
Does Tectum SoftNote Wallet Support 100 Ownership of Digital Assets?
The description above highlights the dilemma most people in Web3 have to deal with. They can learn the complexity of blockchain to gain 100% control of their digital assets. On the other hand, people can relinquish authority for something simpler and more familiar. Does this mean that there are no alternatives where people can get the best of both worlds? Well, this is where the Tectum SoftNote Wallet comes into play.
Tectum SoftNote Wallet is a noncustodial blockchain wallet that offers the simplicity of a custodial wallet while retaining maximum ownership. Since people hold the private key, they have utmost possession of everything in their portfolio. However, SoftNote is also a very simple platform to use. People do not have to worry about the complexity of transferring cryptocurrencies using a public address.
Instead, they can simply scan the QR code to send a friend Bitcoin. This removes room for the error of entering the wrong digits from the long line of text in a public key. In addition, people do not necessarily have to manually add networks. The system immediately adds the available tokens and their respective blockchains on the dashboard once they become available.
People can also integrate their SoftNote Wallet into other noncustodial wallets like Metamask. They can learn how to complete the Tectum-Metamask integration by reading the detailed tutorial. This allows them to manage the same portfolio from multiple platforms.