Proof of Keys | Steemit Crypto Academy | S4W7 | Homework Post for @awesononso | by Karupanocitizen

Good morning fellow students of our prestigious crypto-academy, as well as our teacher @awesononso. Once again it is a real pleasure for me to be able to participate in this seventh week of homework, especially one as interesting as the one masterfully developed by our teacher on this occasion.

As explained at length in the lecture by professor @awesononso, which supports this task, the fundamental basis of the entire blockchain system is the use of cryptographic elements, which is why a clear knowledge of the management and operation is fundamentally important. of the two vital security elements for safeguarding our crypto assets: public keys and private keys.

In this task we will be developing these two key concepts, as well as their use within the framework of the use of the wallets that we use for the daily safekeeping of our cryptocurrencies, now without further delay let's begin to develop this week's allocation.

What are public and private keys about custodial and non-custodial wallets?

A public key allows us to protect our digital assets within a certain wallet, this key gives us access to the place where we store our cryptocurrencies, however, it does not allow us to fully dispose of them (deposit-withdraw), this we need to have the private keys, which depending on the chosen wallet, will be in our possession or the possession of a third party.

On the other hand, private keys are those that allow us to authorize the mobilization of our cryptographic assets, that is, they give us the power to fully dispose of them (deposits-withdrawals), in the same way as public keys, Depending on the type of wallet we choose, we may or may not have access to the private keys.

How does the type of wallet chosen affect the access we have to the public and private keys?

Concerning how public and private keys are managed, we can say that there are two types of wallets: custodial wallets and non-custodial wallets.

_{imagen image designed by me in canva}

Custodial Wallets:

In this type of wallet, although the deposited funds are our property, so "in theory" we can freely dispose of them, they cannot be entered or withdrawn without the prior consent or authorization of the person who administers the platform. in which said wallet works. For this reason, the user does not have a private key, only the public one that allows him to see the status of his funds, they are called wallet with custody, because a third party is left with the function of "guarding" or "safeguarding" our funds or cryptographic resources.

_{imagen image designed by me in canva}

Non-custodial wallets:

Unlike the previous one, in this type of wallet, the user has full and absolute access to their cryptographic funds, being able to have them at the time and in the way that they deem appropriate. In this type of wallet, the private key, which grants permission for the mobilization of funds, is in the hands of the user himself, so what may happen to them is his absolute responsibility.

My opinion on Proof of Keys Day, considerations to take into account

I believe that the creation of the Proof of Keys Day is a great way to not only remind all centralized cryptocurrency management mechanisms that these assets were created to provide financial freedom to their owners but also as a verification measure that they are carrying out correct and transparent management of our crypto assets.

On that day, the centralized test exchanges will be tested by the user and must demonstrate that they have not misused the funds left in their custody, the best thing is that this is done with a mechanism as simple as transferring the funds "in full" requested by a user to another place of their choice. This withdrawal guarantees not only that the funds are available for when they are required, but also serves as a warning so that their "custodians" understand that to the extent that they provide a better service, to the same extent they will have the trust of their users, If that trust is lost, possibly the funds left in escrow as well.

It must be taken into account that when withdrawing our funds from a centralized exchange or wallet to another decentralized one, the responsibility for the custody and management of our cryptographic assets will be under our absolute responsibility, their security will depend on the safeguard mechanism that we use and of the proper management of our public and private keys, so it is important to take into account the following considerations:

• Choose safe and reputable wallets within the cryptographic environment, our cryptocurrencies cannot be anywhere, we must carefully analyze the characteristics (advantages and disadvantages) of the selected wallet.

• Avoid scams, before transferring funds to any wallet, first validate if it is a safe site and not a trap, always check that the download links are original and authentic.

• Keep your public and private keys in a safe place, it must be remembered that having private keys has full control over our cryptocurrencies, so we must take special care to keep them safe from third-party access.

Centralized exchanges or decentralized wallets to store our cryptocurrencies, which one to choose?

This question is very important as it makes us think about the way we want to manage our cryptocurrencies, what elements we consider important when choosing where we want to protect our crypto assets. In particular, currently, for reasons of ease for the self-management of my cryptocurrencies, I am more inclined to use a decentralized wallet such as Metamask or Tron for the protection of my cryptocurrencies, my particular reasons for preferring them are:

• Complete freedom to safely and quickly manage my cryptocurrencies.
• Savings in commissions for the withdrawal of funds from my wallet
• Ease of interacting with decentralized exchanges and De Fi
• Possibility of safeguarding both ERC-20, TRX-20, or NFT's tokens in the same wallet
• Ease of making currency exchanges directly from the wallet

That said, in particular, I recommend that, if you do not have experience with decentralized Wallets, it is best to start with a centralized exchange, precisely because the same security mechanisms that this type of platform has, in terms of the administration of the money, makes the "accidental" or caused loss of our cryptocurrencies much more difficult, likewise, the support they offer allows us to become familiar with the management of our cryptocurrencies and then be able to make, with safe passage, the change towards decentralized systems.

Simulating of Proof of Keys Day

Transferring 20 Steem from Binance to the Steemit Wallet

To demonstrate the process of transferring assets from my account in the binance exchange to the steemit wallet, I will rely on the following gif, it is configured so that each image advances every 5 seconds.

Transferring 50 TRX from Binance to TronLink Wallet

To demonstrate the process of transferring assets from my account in the binance exchange to the Tronlik wallet, I will rely on the following gif, it is configured so that each image advances every 5 seconds.

Importance of the mock of Proof of Keys Day

I believe that by simulating the Proof of Keys Day we are putting into practice not only our capacities and skills to be able to carry out the proper management of our crypto assets effectively and efficiently, starting from a centralized platform to a decentralized wallet, but also add, we put our public and private key protection mechanisms to the test, in this way we are preparing ourselves for when we need to carry out operations with a greater amount of cryptocurrencies, we have sufficient security (in our capacities) to carry out these procedures adequately and efficiently.

One of the things that we must always bear in mind is that the proper management and safeguarding of our crypto assets is what can protect us from possible fraud and scams, having clear and full knowledge of the operation of both decentralized platforms, as well as those of the Decentralized wallets that we use to manage our cryptocurrencies, is what will make the difference between continuing to depend on the "security" provided by the former at the sacrifice of the convenience and versatility offered by the latter.

Now to close and by way of conclusion, it is of the utmost importance that we understand that it is necessary for our growth within the cryptographic environment, to understand how the crypto active security systems that are offered within it work, to have sufficient capacity to know where and how we can safeguard our crypto assets and take into account that only we are responsible for the proper use of our cryptocurrencies, but for this, we must be sufficiently prepared and accustomed to handling the different platforms and instruments necessary for this.

Best regards professors @awesononso and @lenonmc21