Today is Bitcoin Day, the anniversary of the Genesis Block that marked the beginning of the Bitcoin blockchain in 2009. This year, with the price of bitcoin soaring to the moon, Bitcoiners have more reason to celebrate – and more reason to claim their sovereignty over your private keys.
An annual event started for the first time by Trace Mayer, the Proof of Keys is an informal celebration that aims to remind bitcoiners that monetary sovereignty is a fundamental part of the Bitcoin ethos. It lies at the heart of the familiar Bitcoiner mantra, “not your keys, not your currency.” In other words, if you don’t control your bitcoin’s private keys, you don’t actually own the currency.
The saying is a reminder that Bitcoin was created to give users complete control over their finances. It is also a reminder of the potential consequences of entrusting your bitcoin keys to third parties (like losing your funds in an exchange hack).
Establishing monetary sovereignty
“Anyone who doesn’t want you to have your own private keys – they are your monetary enemies. They don’t want you to be free and independent with your money, ”said Mayer in preparation for the inaugural 2019 event.” That’s the way it is. “
The implications of relying on others to process, exchange and maintain your cryptocurrencies are not immaterial. They have acute consequences and compromise your privacy and will limit the way you interact with your own money.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) gathers extensive personal information about the financial transactions of millions of people, all provided to them by financial institutions, even when these people have not committed any crime.
This year, taking custody of your keys by transferring them to a personal wallet takes on an additional level of significance. FinCEN proposed a plan that will force exchanges to meet new know-your-customer (KYC) requirements when users attempt to transfer their funds to a personal wallet. Such a requirement, applicable to any amount transferred in excess of $ 3,000 in value, threatens to undermine cryptocurrencies’ initial promise of privacy and self-sovereignty. (Note: FinCEN is only accepting public comments on this issue until January 4, 2021).
Add to that the recent withdrawal of privacy coins for many exchanges, the mentioned exchange hacks showing no signs of stopping and other confusions as absent Exchange keyholders inadvertently freezing transactions: taking control of your own private keys and becoming the first and the last line of control when it comes to your encryption is even more imperative.
The most basic way to exercise your monetary sovereignty is to keep your private keys in your own bitcoin wallet without custody. That means taking any bitcoin you own out of custody purses and wallets and transferring the keys to a wallet you control.
Proof of Keys
Proof of keys takes the notion of self-sovereignty even further, adding the saying, “It is not your knot; not your rules. ”The point here is that it is equally important to withdraw your keys for a bitcoin node that you are running. That way, you can perform your own validation yourself, without having to rely on other people’s nodes to prove that your keys are yours.
Proof of Keys participants generally promise to take possession of any private keys on or before January 3. On Twitter, this promise is publicly denoted by adding a series of symbols to your username or profile: [Jan/3➞₿🔑∎] The date, the arrow, the Unicode Bitcoin and the key represent the intention to keep your keys. The block signals that they have completed the verification process.
House KeyFest
Self-care of your keys can be a complicated proposition for the uninitiated – and even for some who have been holding bitcoins for a long time. To help people securely control their private keys, Casa is hosting its first KeyFest, a three-day virtual conference, January 5-7.
Each day will present a new webinar, followed by a workshop to instruct users on the different ways to custody their bitcoin. Speakers include Blockstream CEO Adam Back, Balaji Srinivasan and Avanti co-founder Caitlin Long, among others.