Today is Bitcoin Day, the anniversary of the Genesis Block that marked the beginning of the Bitcoin blockchain in 2009. This year, with the price of bitcoin shooting for the moon, Bitcoiners have more reason to celebrate – and more reason to assert their sovereignty over their private keys.
An annual event first initiated by Trace Mayer, Proof of Keys is an informal celebration that aims to remind bitcoiners that monetary sovereignty is a fundamental part of Bitcoin’s ethos. It lies at the very heart of the familiar Bitcoiner mantra, “not your keys, not your coin.” In other words, if you don’t control the private keys to your bitcoin, you don’t really own the coin.
The saying is a reminder that Bitcoin was built to give users complete control over their finances. It’s also a reminder of the potential consequences of trusting your bitcoin keys to a third party (like losing your funds in an exchange hack).
Establishing monetary sovereignty
“Anyone who doesn’t want you…