The meaning of owning crypto

When you buy crypto (usually from an Exchange), what you really own is an address on the blockchain and the Private Keys (cryptographic code) that control that address. The Private Key(s) belong to a Wallet (Mnemonic)

The blockchain itself keeps track of how many coins or tokens are in that address at a given moment.

Your coins are not in any sort of account: they exist on the blockchain, and are managed solely by you. This means that it is your responsibility to ensure they remain truly and safely yours.

Owning crypto means you are your own Bank

The first thing to understand is that buying crypto assets doesn’t mean physically owning the coins. Because digital money is not tangible and does not exist physically. What you really own instead is called a “private key”. And this is precisely what you need to protect.

Once a transaction has been made on the blockchain, there is no turning back. This means you are the only one in charge to secure your crypto assets, as well as the only one responsible for the decisions you will make.

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By "owning crypto" it's intended and implicit that you control the Mnemonic and the Private Keys of the addresses where your crypto is stored.