Exchanges Safer Than Self-Custody: CZ Sparks Debate Over Crypto Storage
Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao, has sparked debate by stating that it is statistically safer to store cryptocurrency assets on exchanges than in self-custody. CZ cited data from Willy Woo, which shows that 1.57 million BTC have been lost from investors storing their holdings in self-custody compared to 1.51 million from those keeping their assets on exchanges.
However, the data Woo shared is from a December 2025 report and hasn't taken into consideration the latest hacks and incidents, including the Coldcard fiasco, where the value of stolen BTC increases daily.
CZ explained that hack data is easier to collect on the centralized exchange's side because most become major news. In contrast, it's more difficult on the self-custody side, where hacks and lost coins are often not reported.
He concluded that a balanced approach, in which investors split their holdings into multiple custodians, is 'probably best.'