Building a secure Bitcoin wallet
This section goes over two major design decisions that give Proton Wallet a robust and secure foundation.
Custodial vs. self-custodial
Multiple solutions allow you to hold Bitcoin, and they exist oman phone number data on a spectrum, with dependency on third parties on one end and self-sovereignty on the other. For example, if you have Bitcoin in an ETF or exchange, you are entirely trusting one or more companies to hold Bitcoin for you. These centralized custodial solutions put you at risk of losing your Bitcoin to hacks (Mt. Gox), poor management (FTX), or even regulatory or legal action. These custodial solutions are generally not designed for transacting with Bitcoin and are legally required to surveil your financial activities.
On the self-sovereignty side of the spectrum are self-custodial wallets where you are the only one with access to your Bitcoin. You have full control of your Bitcoin and do not need to trust a third party. Self-custodial wallets allow you to store and use Bitcoin as it was designed: peer-to-peer and censorship-resistant. This means all transactions are saved on the Bitcoin blockchain forever, and the transferred BTC goes directly from sender to recipient without any intermediary taking control.
We designed Proton Wallet to be the most self-sovereign and trust-minimized solution. It uses end-to-end encryption(new window)on the keys that control your Bitcoin and your wallet metadata before they're stored. This means even Proton cannot confiscate your Bitcoin or track your financial activities.