I was checking out Bitcoin Magazine, and saw this article:
He put it into words a lot better than I did, but though the fundamentals of bitcoin self-custody (just write down the 12 words and keep them safe) can seem straightforward, there's way more to it.
A lot of anxiety - sometimes paralyzing - comes up when you realize that these 12 words actually represent real money, and a mistake could lose you...everything.
My book Bitcoin, Hands-On: 28 “learn-by-doing” exercises to master the basics of managing your own Bitcoin, including wallets, transactions, and self custody helps you learn and practice bitcoin self custody, through exercises that take you through the basics with step-by-step exercises. Practice makes perfect, and via the exercises you also gain an understanding of the basics of wallets, private keys, transactions, and the blockchain.
I'm beginning the process of open sourcing the book, it's a work in progress though.
An excerpt from the article:
“It’s just writing down 12 words, anyone can do it.”
This is probably one of the most frequently uttered sentences in this ecosystem when it comes to discussing Bitcoin self custody practices. It’s just keeping some words safe, it’s super easy, anyone can do it right? All the criticisms and reasons people give for someone to not self custody are just Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. All that FUD can be cut through with that one sentence, right? Get your coins off Coinbase now!
Wrong.
This fallacious framing and line of argumentation is no different than saying “shooting a gun is just pointing and pulling a trigger, anyone can do it.” There is so much more than just pointing and pulling a trigger to shooting a gun safely. To start, there is actually having the appreciation for what a gun is, and the consequences using one can have. Consequences you cannot take back.
A gun is not a toy, it is a tool that can kill people. Without truly appreciating that, people can be careless in handling a gun, and if they were to cause harm to someone else while being careless there is no undo button.
There is no way to wind back time and bring someone back from the dead, just like there is no way to rewinding a bitcoin transaction.
Writing down 12 words doesn’t just solve everything. First users have to actually appreciate what those 12 words are. They have to really understand that those 12 words are their money. That they must be kept secret and secure in order to safeguard their bitcoin. Just having those 12 words written down doesn’t equate to having that appreciation.