Self-custody

Security and self-custody minus the paranoia tax: read-only access, key hygiene, approvals, seed phrases and honest threat models you can actually run.

Self-custody is a set of habits more than a product, and most of the habits are boring: which permissions you grant, which approvals you forget, which addresses you trust, and what you do the day a bank or an exchange decides you are a problem. This shelf is about those habits, written without the paranoia tax.

The threat models are honest about what a read-only key can and cannot leak, the checklists are short enough to actually run, and nothing here asks you to move funds anywhere.

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Self-custody

Sep 21, 2026 · 4 min read

Custodial vs non-custodial trackers: what the app can actually do

A tracker does not hold your coins, but what it can do with what you give it varies enormously. The four access levels, and what each one risks.

Self-custody

Sep 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Read-only API keys on OKX, Kraken and Coinbase, step by step

Where the read-only permission lives on OKX, Kraken and Coinbase, what to leave unticked, IP allowlists, key expiry, and what to paste into a tracker.

Self-custody

Sep 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Audit yourself: what apps can touch your exchange account

Every API key you ever created is still there until you delete it. A ten-minute audit per exchange finds the forgotten ones and closes them.

Self-custody

Sep 1, 2026 · 2 min read

Address poisoning: the copy-paste attack

Scammers plant lookalike addresses in your history, betting you copy the wrong one. How address poisoning works and the habits that beat it.

Self-custody

Sep 1, 2026 · 3 min read

Token approvals: the permission you forgot you gave

Every DeFi swap starts with an approval, and approvals never expire. The allowances you granted in 2024 are still live. How to find and revoke them.

Self-custody

Aug 31, 2026 · 2 min read

Self-custody without flying blind

Holding your own keys usually costs you the clean dashboard exchanges give captive users. It should not. How self-custodians get the full picture back.

Self-custody

Aug 31, 2026 · 3 min read

How read-only API keys work, and why they can’t move your funds

Every exchange key comes with permission scopes. Understand the three tiers and you know why a read-only tracker can see balances but never touch them.

Self-custody

Aug 31, 2026 · 3 min read

How to create a read-only Binance API key, step by step

Five minutes in Binance settings: create an API key, leave every permission off except reading, and connect a tracker with zero power over your funds.

Self-custody

Aug 31, 2026 · 3 min read

Can a read-only API key be used against you? An honest threat model

A read-only key cannot move funds. The real risks are quieter: privacy, profiling, forgotten keys. The full threat model, including what vendors skip.