Leeks, have you ever thought about how an old hard drive thrown into a landfill could be worth nearly 1 billion dollars? Recently, a young man in the UK spent 12 years searching through garbage for the hard drive he accidentally threw away, because it contained 8,000 Bitcoins. Now he has finally found it, and when this news broke, everyone was in an uproar, marveling at his incredible luck. But actually, behind this lies the core secret of Bitcoin — decentralization and self-custody of keys. When we usually use Alipay or bank cards, if we forget the password, we can still contact customer service, and if we lose the card, we can get a replacement. But Bitcoin is not like that at all. A Bitcoin account is essentially a 'private key' that only you know; no one in the world can help you back it up. The young man in the UK has been tirelessly searching the landfill for all these years because as long as he finds the private key, the money is all his; if he can’t find it, those Bitcoins will disappear forever, even if everyone knows where the money is, no one can touch it. The most impressive thing about Bitcoin is its 'decentralization.' What does that mean? It means there are no banks, no bosses, no customer service; all transactions are publicly recorded on the blockchain, maintained by countless computers around the world. The Bitcoin in your hand is actually the key in your hand. As long as you have the key, you are the sole owner of your assets; no one can freeze them, no one can steal them, and no one can help you recover them. Many leeks buy coins and, for convenience, leave them directly on exchanges, thinking it’s safe. In fact, the coins are on the exchange, but the keys are in someone else’s hands; you are just 'checking the balance,' not truly owning them. Only by keeping the private key yourself can you truly own Bitcoin. If you want to hold it long-term, the safest way is to use a cold wallet to store the key offline; don’t send it via email, don’t put it on cloud storage, and definitely don’t casually take screenshots. Once the key is leaked, the coins are no longer yours. Therefore, the freedom and security of Bitcoin are based on your ability to protect your keys. The story of the young man finding his hard drive is the best reminder: decentralization allows you to be your own bank, but the responsibility lies entirely with you. Don’t just envy others for becoming rich overnight; first, understand self-custody, so you won’t be cut too badly. #加密市场反弹 #内容挖矿