New research examines how investor behavior, wallet architectures, and operational security practices determine what genuine self-custody requires in 2026.
The foundational promise of cryptocurrency is decentralized, sovereign ownership. But this promise has run into a far more sobering reality, as a lot of funds held on centralized exchanges have been lost over the years. Users have learned the same lesson in different forms: Not your keys, not your coins.
Cointelegraph Research’s latest report, produced in collaboration with Trezor, the original hardware wallet, and titled “The Future of Self-Custody: Turning Ownership Into Security,” examines how this realization has reshaped investor behavior. Drawing on survey responses, post-mortem analyses of exchange failures, and a breakdown of modern wallet architectures, the report explains why self-custody should be a defining topic for crypto security in 2026.
