Here’s What You Missed at Binance Talks: Security
Main Takeaways
With over 70,000 views, the first edition of Binance Talks dove into everything there was to know regarding crypto security.
The event featured a selection of special guests who covered the topics of security, wallets, and seed phrases.
The next episode of Binance Talks will take place on Thursday, March 16 and look into the world of blockchain and AI.
Didn’t catch the last episode of Binance Talks? Find out exactly what you missed when it comes to security in the crypto space.
Without a doubt, security is one of crypto’s most pressing topics. Keeping our funds safe is a top priority, and there’s always something new to learn when it comes to crypto security. To help ensure you’re up to date with the latest security tips and conversations, our first edition of Binance Talks tackled the subject head-on. Don’t worry if you missed the session — we’re here to recap its most important lessons.
What Is Binance Talks?
Binance Talks is our brand new monthly online talk show hosted on Binance Live and YouTube. The series explores crypto’s hottest topics, with each session featuring insightful discussions, exciting giveaways, and a panel of industry-leading guests.
Didn’t manage to catch our latest session? You can watch it here.
Hot versus Cold Wallets
To kick off the show, we took a fresh look at a foundational crypto topic: wallets. We’ve all used them, but have we optimized their security at the same time? Joining us for the discussion were Trust Wallet’s Director of Engineering Luis Ocegueda and NGRAVE Co-founder and CEO Ruben Merre.
When it comes to wallets, we all tread a fine line between utility and security. Ideally, we’d like to utilize hot and cold wallets to their full potential while staying as secure as possible. Hot and cold wallets provide different levels of security, and each type has their own use cases that we must evaluate carefully.
Luis said: “Ask yourself how you engage with crypto, what your habits are, and what types of crypto activities you engage in. What is your risk tolerance and what are your expectations in terms of security, speed, velocity, accessibility?”
This basically means you need to base your choice of wallet on your needs. However, you don’t have to resort to a “take it or leave it” approach. No matter which you end up using, Ruben believes the priority is obvious: “The most important concern in security is private keys, and it starts with how you make them and how you keep them safe.”
Key lesson: There’s no need to pick just one solution. Utilize the strengths of both hot and cold wallets while incorporating them into your crypto workflow.
Security and Reporting: Prevention Is the Best Cure
Next on the agenda was a discussion on how to improve security in our shared crypto ecosystem. Joining the conversation were Binance’s Deputy Head of Financial Crime Compliance Nils Andersen-Röed, the Central Bank of Bahrain’s Superintendent of the Crypto Assets Market Zahra Jaffar AlA'ali, and Elliptic’s VP of Government Solutions Aruna Costa.
We all have a part to play when it comes to security and global cross-party collaboration across private and public organizations is key. To illustrate this, Aruna used the following example: “Intelligence from investigative tools allowed us to trace funds and notify Binance and other exchanges in a collaborative effort to swiftly and successfully suspend and freeze funds stolen by the Lazarus group in June 2022.”
This highlights that exchanges bear the same responsibility due to their pivotal role in the crypto ecosystem. Nils mentioned Binance’s role in incident prevention via education, often working with law enforcement on essential training programs.
Another key factor in preventing security incidents is regulation. With the right frameworks and safeguards in place, carrying out illicit operations will be more challenging.
“At the Central Bank of Bahrain, we consider cybersecurity risk most critical and adopt a risk-based approach by establishing strict controls for mitigation,” Zahra noted.
“Aside from the central bank appointing a competent Chief Information Security Officer, regular on-site inspections are conducted to assess the infrastructure and system of crypto assets.”
Key lesson: Cooperation is critical in the crypto ecosystem. The industry’s security benefits in the long run when regulators, users, builders, and private entities work together.
Are Seed Phrases Here to Stay?
No conversation about wallets and security is complete without touching on seed phrases, a central feature of crypto security. As the industry advances, are there alternatives to the tried-and-tested methods? We invited opinion leaders Udi Wertheimer and 0xQuit to help us answer this and other questions.
Getting into crypto isn’t exactly easy. With every wave of adoption, we see newcomers experiencing issues with their private keys and wallets.
Udi believes that while seed phrases have much room for improvement, they are presently the best option we have. “Seed phrases are a good tool for power users and experts who want full control, and who understand exactly how crypto works and can deal the risks involved,” he said, “(However), for the general public who may be new to the industry, seed phrases are not intuitive and are unforgiving.”
In fact, there are even wallets that have alternative backup and recovery methods. Some of these alternative methods make use of advanced technology like biometric identification and other UX improvements.
However, it’s important to not get complacent with seed phrases, even if you are a crypto veteran. According to 0xQuit, it’s all about doing your own due diligence and looking up best practices for storing your seed phrase. If you feel unsafe or unconfident doing so, research the many other crypto storage options available.
Key lesson: It looks like seed phrases are here to stay. However, there are alternatives to explore if you feel like they aren’t the right option for you.
Join Us for the Next Session of Binance Talks
Our first Binance Talks episode was a fantastic opportunity to hear from the industry’s best and brightest on security. If you missed the session, you can easily re-watch it here.
But that’s not all we have to offer. On Thursday, March 16, we’ll be back again on Binance Live and YouTube with a new selection of guests to discuss AI and Web3. With each Binance Talks session full of key lessons, as well as giveaways, you won’t want to miss out on the live experience.