Sovereign Infrastructure
Custodial Wallet
A wallet where a third party holds the private keys — the user has an account, not ownership. Not your keys, not your coins.
Definition
A wallet in which a third party — an exchange, a bank, a fintech provider — holds the private keys on behalf of the user. The user has an account, not ownership. Custodial wallets reintroduce the trust hierarchy that sovereignty seeks to eliminate: the custodian can freeze funds, comply with seizure orders, or suffer a breach that loses everything. The mantra "not your keys, not your coins" captures the fundamental sovereignty deficit of custodial models.