Industry safety test, self-custody wallets are the future of Web3

The torrent of algorithms never stops, and security incidents are like the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads; it is never a question of "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen. Recently, CEX and DeFi have frequently encountered hacker attacks, with asset losses, contract vulnerabilities, and the shadow of Trojan viruses looming over the market, making the word "security" a focal point once again. The crypto world has never had absolute security; there are only ever-evolving security strategies. When the traditional financial principle of "too big to fail" fails in the Web3 world, the industry faces unprecedented questioning: Who should we trust with the security of our assets?

OKX clearly recognizes the security risks in the crypto industry, but we focus on solutions rather than fear—fear does not solve problems; technological innovation is the answer. We care about the security of all crypto users, and no matter where people trade, we always advocate for higher security standards, and through self-custody wallets, POR, and other technological innovations, we enable users to truly own their asset sovereignty. This is not marketing; it is the inevitable direction of industry development.

We believe that the future of Web3 is not built on trust in centralized platforms, but on code, transparency, and user sovereignty. True security does not rely on any platform but is in the hands of the users themselves. Therefore, the self-custody wallet we advocate is not just a product concept but a shift in industry paradigm; it represents a return to decentralization, transparency, and personal sovereignty. OKX is committed to promoting higher security standards, providing more transparent and trustworthy solutions not only for itself but for the entire industry.

We hope to strengthen OKX's commitment to crypto security by helping users understand the concept of self-custody wallets, assisting them in making informed decisions, and raising security awareness. OKX firmly believes that the industry must continuously evolve to protect user asset security, and we support stricter security standards to ensure the long-term development of the entire industry.

There is an essential difference between "platform security" under traditional paradigms and "self-sovereign security" in the Web3 era. "Not your key, Not your money," self-custody wallets grant users absolute control over their crypto assets, achieving decentralized management through unique private keys. Users can perform asset storage, trading, and other operations without relying on third-party institutions, truly becoming the managers of their personal digital assets. This mathematically proven security mechanism completely breaks away from the traditional security framework that relies on human operation and maintenance, not only ensuring the integrity of asset ownership and privacy rights but also avoiding the redemption risks caused by operational crises of centralized platforms. However, absolute control comes with complete responsibility; users must independently bear security obligations such as the safekeeping of mnemonic phrases.

In terms of account generation and private key backup, unlike traditional wallets that only support deriving multiple wallets from a single mnemonic phrase, the OKX Web3 wallet is the only one that can simultaneously create multiple mnemonic phrase wallets and derive multiple accounts from a single mnemonic phrase, enhancing user flexibility and security in asset management while effectively reducing the risk of private key leakage. Additionally, the OKX Web3 wallet reconstructs the backup process, allowing users to complete off-chain backups simply by logging into their iCloud/Google accounts and setting an encryption password. This solution breaks through the traditional hardware dependency; even if the device is lost or the mnemonic phrase is forgotten, assets can still be quickly restored through cloud verification of encrypted backups. A triple protection system: cloud storage + password verification + local encryption, lowers the operational threshold while building a fault-tolerant insurance mechanism for crypto assets.

At the same time, the OKX Web3 wallet provides powerful private key protection features, such as prohibiting users from taking screenshots or recording the private key and mnemonic phrase to prevent information leakage. To further enhance security, it also supports features like segmented copying of private keys, ensuring that every step is protected. Through these protective measures, users' private keys and mnemonic phrases are always under strict security protection, reducing potential security risks.

According to a public audit by SlowMist Technology, all private keys and mnemonic phrases of OKX Web3 wallet users are stored only on the user's local device and are not uploaded to any external servers. Moreover, the SDK related to the OKX Web3 wallet is also open-source, having undergone extensive verification and continuous review by the global developer technical community, making it more open and transparent. The private key security module of the OKX Web3 wallet complies with financial-grade security standards, ensuring that mnemonic phrases are stored offline throughout and never touch the internet.

In response to the common "infinite authorization" risk in the DeFi ecosystem, the OKX Web3 wallet has a built-in smart contract permission management feature that supports custom authorization limits, one-click risk authorization cancellation, continuous risk monitoring, risk alerts for DApps that have not interacted for 30 days, and regular pop-up risk reminders, further eliminating the asset exposure risk caused by excessive authorization, creating a "minimum privilege" security paradigm.

For example, many users have authorized various contracts, but long-term inactive contracts may become targets for hacker attacks due to a lack of project maintenance. The OKX Web3 wallet records the contracts users have authorized through on-chain retrieval and tracks the risk-free contracts among them. For contracts that have not interacted for a long time, the system will automatically detect them and promptly alert users when risks are found. Every 30 days, the system will remind users who have not canceled the authorization of long-term inactive contracts, suggesting that they regularly manage wallet contract authorizations and promptly cancel contracts that are no longer in use to reduce potential risks. Additionally, the OKX contract monitoring engine provides 24/7 security protection, scanning user-authorized contracts in real-time and promptly alerting users to cancel authorization when risks are detected; if not canceled within 24 hours, the system will remind users again.

In response to on-chain interaction risks, the OKX Web3 wallet provides powerful risk transaction identification features, such as integrating the Tianyan KYT system to build a proactive defense network that scans risk address label databases in real-time. In key processes such as DApp interaction and asset transfer, it dynamically identifies threats like malicious contracts and phishing addresses through machine learning, achieving millisecond-level risk blocking before transactions. This protection system deeply integrates user autonomy with professional risk control capabilities, enabling self-custody wallets to maintain decentralized characteristics while gaining security assurance capabilities that surpass centralized platforms.

The future of the industry is still uncertain, but self-custody wallets are undoubtedly a certain path—becoming the "Noah's Ark" for the security of user assets.