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ArtTimeInvestor • yesterday at 10:34 AM • 6 replies • view on HN

Hardware wallets are not a solution to self-custody.

If one would make a list of things that can go wrong, starting from the supply chain that delivers parts to the manufacturer, malicious employees at the manufacturer, mistakes the manufacturer can make, attacks on the delivery chain from the manufacturer to the user, to mistakes the user can make creating, using and storing their keys - the list would contain hundreds of points.


Replies

Aurornis • today at 7:49 PM

> Hardware wallets are not a solution to self-custody.

Look back as recently as last year and hardware wallets were held up as the recommended way to do self-custody all over.

Whenever I brought up the issue of losing coins due to hacks or bugs, I was told that hardware wallets had solved this problem.

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0cf8612b2e1e • today at 8:33 PM

Do passkeys next.

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embedding-shape • yesterday at 11:06 AM

> Hardware wallets are not a solution to self-custody.

Nothing in this world tends to be "the solution", everything has tradeoffs.

Say you want to do self-custody, what is then the best option? "Don't do self-custody" obviously isn't the solution, as the core use case here is self-custody, so what in your opinion is a better way, than hardware wallets?

If there is nothing better today than hardware wallets, then for now, they are "one of the better solutions" for how to do self-custody, even with the current tradeoffs. But again, I'm eager to hear what the alternatives are.

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nkrisc • yesterday at 11:22 AM

Then can you give an example of what you would consider a solution, whether hypothetical or real?

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akoboldfrying • yesterday at 10:57 AM

Yes, but this threat analysis also holds for laptops and phones.

What do you use to access your bank account online? I use my laptop, or my phone.

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chinathrow • yesterday at 10:48 AM

But freedom.

Seriously, that's why we have banks, still.

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