# Self Custody Who owns the funds in your bank account? How about the funds in your CEX account? Your DEX deposits? What would happen if you tried to withdraw your money from a bank or a CEX? Usually, you’d get your funds (perhaps after waiting a few days). However, it’s not guaranteed. You have to trust that the third party in control of your funds will give them back. Self-custody means there is no such trust assumption. Only you have true ownership of your digital assets because you control the private keys. This also means you have the responsibility to safeguard access to your private key because it is not stored anywhere else. > ## Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto! Native is designed with self custody in mind. It is non-custodial, and your assets will be as safe as long as your private keys are safe. With Native, you don’t even have to deposit your assets into a smart contract. Instead, you simply provide a limited contract allowance. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.native.org/native-whitepaper/introduction/self-custody.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.