Crypto’s loudest promise — that anyone can be their own bank — is running into an uncomfortable question: was self-custody ever built for people who are not security experts? Two custody executives gave opposite answers, and the gap between them maps out the trade-offs facing every wallet buyer.

Rahul Rumalla, chief executive of Safe Labs, argued that the principle was always meant to be universal. “We don’t expect every driver to be a mechanic, and we shouldn’t expect everyone who wants to own their assets to become a security expert,” he said. He added that being able to own and control assets is “the whole point of crypto,” and that “self-custody does not mean doing everything yourself.”

Michael Tanguma, who runs the Bitcoin…