Changpeng Zhao Claims Exchanges Are Safer Than Self-Custody

Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, believes it is safer to hold bitcoins on exchanges than in self-custody, following the loss of 2,054 bitcoins (131 million dollars) by Coldcard users. The losses from exchanges and self-custody are nearly equivalent: 1.51 million bitcoins on exchanges and 1.57 million in self-custody. Zhao emphasizes that losses from self-custody may be underestimated, as many incidents go unreported. He states that storing coins on exchanges is statistically safer, although each approach has different risk profiles. Analyst Willy Woo agrees that self-custody is the only protection Bitcoin can offer in unstable times. Losses from self-custody total 1.57 million bitcoins (100 billion dollars), while losses from exchanges amount to 1.51 million bitcoins (96.6 billion dollars). On exchanges, 1.18 million bitcoins were lost to hacks, 155,000 due to insolvency, 138,000 from fraud, and 32,000 from operational failures. In self-custody, losses occur due to theft or loss of keys. In December 2025, 7.12 million bitcoins were on exchanges and 10.22 million in self-custody. The losses represent 21.2% of the total on exchanges and 15.4% in self-custody, totaling 3.08 million bitcoins, or 15.4% of the circulating supply of 20 million.

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