Member-only story
What is the Bitcoin ‘Proof of Keys’ Event and Why It’s Important
On January 3rd, 2019 crypto traders will take part in the Proof of Keys day. Thanks, HitBTC, for showing why we should care.
What is Proof of Keys anyway?
Proof of Keys is a movement started by well-known crypto investor Trace Mayer through Twitter. On Thursday, January 3rd, 2019 investors are being urged to move their cryptocurrency off of exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, etc.) and into a Bitcoin wallet where they have control over the private keys.
Why January 3rd?
January 3rd, 2019, is the 10-year anniversary of the Bitcoin ‘genesis block’ being mined. Proof of Keys is intended to become an annual tradition so a date that’s easy to remember, as it celebrates the creation of the Bitcoin blockchain, was chosen.
So what’s the point of Proof of Keys?
As Trace Mayer stated in his tweet, “Not your keys; not your bitcoin.” Most crypto veterans, but far too few nocoiners (er… newcomers), understand that cryptocurrency stored on an exchange is, technically, owned by that exchange. Since the exchange has full control over the private keys (users have no access to them) they have the ability to do whatever they choose with the wallets and the crypto stored in them.
This poses a huge risk to investors that Proof of Keys is attempting to remedy. By convincing users to move their crypto it accomplishes a few things;
- Urge users to learn, or re-familiarize themselves with, how to create and use Bitcoin wallets (regardless of whether they’re paper, hardware or software wallets… as long as the user controls the private keys)
- Teach or remind cryptocurrency investors the…
