Trace Mayer on Proof of Keys - WBD176

Location: Skype Date: Tuesday, 26th Nov Project: Premier Ark LLC Role: Manager

When Bitcoin is held on an exchange or with another 3rd party custodian, that 3rd party owns the Bitcoin, they have control of the private keys and can they have the ability to use it as they choose. As the customer to that custodian, all you have is the promise of that Bitcoin.

One of the core fundamentals of Bitcoin is that it allows you to become self-sovereign; so is adding a layer of trust to a trustless system antithetical to what it was designed to do?

On the anniversary of Bitcoin’s genesis block Trace Mayer’s Proof of Keys campaign encourages everyone to take control of their Bitcoin and remove it from these 3rd party custodians. Not only does this encourage everyone to control their private keys, but it also ‘stress tests’ the exchanges and offers proof that they are running fully reserved.

In this interview, I talk to Trace about his Proof of Keys campaign, exchange hackings, claiming your monetary sovereignty and stress testing custodians.