Crypto Breaches Soar as Key Management Falters, Raising Concerns Over Scaling Decentralization

Nearly half of $503M lost in crypto breaches in Q1 2024 involved private keys being compromised, showing key management remains an unsolved issue.

As crypto scales to more users, there are more custodial solutions replacing self-custody despite its risks.

Bitcoin developer Craig Raw argues there's tension between scaling crypto to reach hundreds of millions of users and maintaining decentralization.

The only way for crypto to remain censorship-resistant is for people to control their own keys, but "Uncle Jims" holding keys for others is fading.

It's unclear if crypto can scale and retain commitments to individual control of keys; it depends on whether you prioritize adoption or decentralization.