Custodial exchange
A centralised exchange generally controls hosted-wallet keys and provides an account under an operator’s terms. Research therefore follows the legal entity, safeguarding language, account controls, funding rails and withdrawal conditions.
Self-custody wallet
A wallet lets the user control signing material, but recovery options, routing, telemetry and security services can still introduce dependencies. Losing the recovery material or approving a malicious request may be irreversible.
Responsibility moves; risk remains
Moving assets can replace operator risk with key-loss, signing, software and network risk. Neither category is universally safer, and a single league table would hide their different failure modes.
How we compare
Exchange files align entity, custody, fees, exit and incidents. Wallet files align key control, recovery, signing, provenance, privacy and service dependencies.
Decision discipline
State the task, amount at risk, expected holding period, recovery plan and evidence still missing. Choose a product class before choosing a brand.