Greetings blockchain voyager,

The year’s been long and fraught with news of centralized collapse, bridge hacks, and vulnerabilities. If there’s one silver lining, its that users are swiftly moving assets into self-custody solutions.

With so many options on the market you may wonder: what options are out there? What are the differences? What technologies should I use to keep my crypto safe?

We at Webacy, the protection layer for self-custody, have drawn out a self-custody ecosystem landscape to display the who’s who and ins and outs of self-custody on the blockchain.

You can read our full self-custody guide here.

Mobile & Desktop Wallets

These are the most commonly used and widely known wallets in the space. You’ll recognize names like Metamask, Rainbow Wallet, Exodus and more, with many new players entering the category.

These wallets live on your devices as a browser extension, an app, or even a desktop plugin. While some browser extensions like Metamask make it easy to interact with web3 dapps, they are also more at risks for vulnerabilities and hacks derived from user error and compromised browser profiles.

Hardware Wallets

You’ve likely also heard of hardware wallets. Some of the big names include Ledger and our friends at Arculus. Hardware wallets are usually assumed to be more “secure” than browser or software-based wallets because the private key is stored on the physical device itself. Even still, a hardware wallet does not stop you from signing a malicious transaction, or giving an approval away to something that could potentially drain your wallet.

Smart Contract Based

The technologies in this category include both wallets and other infrastructure and tools that are based on smart contracts. For example, Argent is a self-custody wallet built with security in mind, including social recovery, and other features that enhance the overall experience.

Webacy is also in this category. Our smart contract-based technology enables you to protect and manage your crypto with features like a Backup Wallet, Panic Button, Wallet Watch, and more - all integrated with whatever wallet you already have. Since the technology is smart contract-based, there is no custodian in the middle, and there’s no need for seed phrases or private keys, ever.

Other Categories

There’s a few other categories to round out the ecosystem, including Browsers themselves, DeFi tools, multisig technology, DeFi dashboards / wallet trackers, MPC wallets (your keys are divided up like Horcruxes), and B2B solutions. As more people recognize the importance of security in their setup, we’ll inevitably see this ecosystem expand and greet new players in the space.

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Users have a variety of options when it comes to self-custody, with some systems being better than others. Ultimately, what works for one person may not be the best for someone else, so each user will need to create a process that works best with their assets.

Full crypto security will include a combination of products and services, including Webacy. It’s important to not only have a door or a lock and key - but also an alarm system and motion sensor. Some may even argue insurance. Our technology enables recovery and backup options that have never existed before on the blockchain - all in the effort of making a safer web3 for all.

Try Webacy today.