"Non-custodial" is the most important word in B28, so it is worth getting right. In plain terms: you hold the keys to your own money, and we never do.
Custodial vs non-custodial, simply
A custodial wallet or exchange holds your keys for you. Your balance is really an IOU on their books. They can move it, freeze it, lose it in a hack, or restrict it, and you have to ask them for access to your own funds.
A non-custodial wallet, like B28, generates and stores the keys on your own device, in the phone's secure hardware behind your fingerprint or face. The funds are on the blockchain, controlled only by your keys. No company sits between you and your money.
Why "not your keys, not your crypto"
It is the oldest saying in crypto, and it is true. If someone else holds the keys, they control the crypto, and you are trusting them to stay solvent, stay honest, and stay online. With B28, the keys are yours, so the control is yours. Nobody can quietly spend, lend out, or lock up what is in your wallet.
What B28 cannot do
- We cannot freeze your funds. There is no off switch on our end, because we do not hold your keys.
- We cannot lose your funds in our own breach. There is no central vault of customer crypto to steal, because it never sits with us.
- We cannot touch or move your funds. Every transaction is signed by you, on your device, with your fingerprint.
- We cannot recover your recovery phrase. This is the honest cost of real self-custody. If you lose the phrase and lose the device, the funds are gone, and we have no master key to bring them back.
What B28 can do
- Give you one wallet across 16 networks and around 48 assets, with holding and receiving free.
- Let you send, receive, and talk to your wallet in plain words, always with your approval.
- Run the Sentinel scam-shield to warn you before you sign something dangerous.
- Let you export your recovery phrase any time, so you are never locked into us. The wallet is yours to take anywhere.
The trade-off, and why it is worth it
Self-custody puts the responsibility on you: back up your recovery phrase, keep it offline, and never share it. In return you get something a bank account or a custodial app cannot offer: money that genuinely cannot be frozen, seized, or lost in someone else's hack, because no one else holds it. That is the deal, and we think it is the right one. To make the responsibility manageable, B28 backs you up with the Sentinel and with clear, honest warnings, but the keys stay yours.
For practical guidance on protecting your phrase and your device, read self-custody and your keys.
One honest note
B28 is not a bank, not an e-money institution, and not a regulated deposit-taking institution. Crypto is volatile and uninsured. Non-custodial means freedom and responsibility together, and we would rather be clear about both than oversell either. Ready to start? Get early access.