In the Lord’s vineyard there is everything. And between what there is, There are people who do not trust anything or anyone. Of course, there are mistrusts that are healthy and rational. And there are mistrusts that border on the pathological, the result of extremism and paranoia.
The personification of mistrust could be a grumpy paranoid old man who lives in some remote place like Arkansas or Montana in the 19th century. That he grows his own food, that he buries gold in a secret place next to the apple tree, that he has a shotgun on his shoulder and that he refuses to pay taxes. That he is always alert and ready to fight the feds or anyone who comes near his territory.
The United States is, incredible as it may seem, a very Protestant country. Yes, this country is basically the son of the Reform. What does that mean? Well, their culture and mentality are marked by the rejection of authority and the search for truth through individual consciousness.
This has many consequences, both in politics and in religion. On the one hand, Protestants tend to political anarchism, that is, to distrust any earthly power that wants to impose rules or laws on them. On the other hand, Protestants tend to religious mysticism, that is, to believe that they have a direct and personal connection with God, without the need for intermediaries or rituals.
These two trends can be very dangerous for social cohesion. If everyone does what they want and does not respect any authority, How can order and coexistence be maintained? If everyone interprets the Bible as he sees fit and does not accept any common doctrineHow can fanaticism and intolerance be avoided?
LToday’s bitcoiners, in many ways, are inheritors of this longstanding individualist stream. And it is not surprising that mistrust is our daily bread in a community with such a presence of conservatives, libertarians and anarcho-capitalists.
Do you think the anti-authoritarian spirit is something new? It is not. Gold has always been the refuge of those who distrust banks and the government, especially conservatives. So don’t be surprised that the Bitcoin maxis are practically obsessed with self-custody. It is not only a financial or economic matter, but also a political one.. Self-protection reinforces the old Protestant identity, which rebels against any authority that wants to tell it what to do or how to think. It is the fight of the individual against the system.
Do you know what the self-custody of maximalist bitcoiners is? Basically, it’s the modern version of keeping money under the mattress or gold in the backyard, with a rifle in one arm and the Bible in the other. They trust no one but God, themselves and technology.
Trusting others is a very bad idea. And trust a third party as the custodian of your money much less. According to the distrustful, the trusting are idiots and naive who sooner or later will be scammed by professional tricksters. Who would think of trusting others? What ignorance! The only reliable thing is Bitcoin, the code and the math. None of this would have been possible without the Reformation. Martin Luther is not dead.
What would you do if you lost your seed phrase in a physical wallet? Would you resign yourself to losing your funds forever or would you look for a silver bullet? Well, Ledger, one of the best-known hardware wallet companies, claims to have the answer: Ledger Recover.
Ledger Recover is a subscription service that allows you to save your seed phrase in three encrypted parts that are sent to different external entities. If you ever need it, you just have to combine and unscramble them to get your original phrase back. Sounds good right? Well, not so much, according to many members of the crypto community, who have expressed their discontent on social networks.
Some argue that this service goes against the principle of self-custody, that is, having full control of your private keys without depending on third parties. Others point out that it is a back door that could compromise the security of your funds if one of the external entities allies with the others or comes under attack. And others remember the Ledger data breach case in 2020, which exposed the personal information of thousands of customers.
Ledger, for his part, argues that Ledger Recover is a voluntary option for users who want to have a backup copy of their seed phrase and that does not affect those who prefer to manage it themselves. Furthermore, it ensures that the encrypted parts of the seed phrase never leave the device and can only be decrypted by the user with their PIN code.
How about saving your seed phrase to a recovery service like Ledger Recover? Does it seem like a good solution to avoid losing your funds or a bad decision that compromises your security? Would you rather trust your memory or a piece of paper that you can hide somewhere? In an ideal world, the user would have the freedom to choose how to guard their cryptocurrencies without being pressured or judged by anyone. But in the crypto space things are never that simple. AND The issue of self-protection is delicate, because it strikes a very sensitive chord in many.
It’s like asking the old conservative farmer from the 19th century to dig up his gold, deposit it in a Yankee bank, and start paying taxes to the politicians in Washington. No, gentlemen, it is not that simple. In these matters of identity and ideology, the diversity of options is not welcome. People insist on defending their ideals at all costs. And besides, crypto-libertarians are stubborn as a mule.
You have three options: save your seed phrase and pray you don’t lose it, use a recovery service, or delegate custody to a centralized entity and forget about it. Each one has its pros and cons to it, but none will make you completely happy. In my opinion, do as you please. Choose the option of your preference. In these cases, do not pay much attention to Twitter.
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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