Russian Bankers Reportedly Trying to Criminalize Non-Custodial Cryptocurrency Wallets

A large Russian banking organization wants to make it illegal to have your own bitcoin keys.

The Association of Russian Banks, which represents more than 300 Russian banks and financial institutions, is calling on lawmakers to ban the storage of cryptocurrencies outside of non-custodial centralized exchanges

Unlike accounts on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, non-custodial or self-hosted wallets allow users to store cryptocurrencies without relying on a third party to freeze, block or take away users' crypto assets. This essentially allows investors to "become their own bank" by having full control over their cryptocurrencies and associated private keys.