"Self-custody" is one of those promises I've learned not to accept without questioning.
When Babylon says your Bitcoin stays on Bitcoin and you hold the keys, my first instinct is to ask: what dependency actually disappeared, and what new risks took its place?
That's how I'm looking at TBV.
Most people celebrate Babylon because it removes the custodian. You don't trust a company anymore. Your Bitcoin never leaves Bitcoin. That's the pitch.
But removing one layer of trust isn't the same as removing all trust.
With wrapped Bitcoin, a custodian holds your keys and you hope they don't lose them. With TBV, YOU hold the keys and now you're the one who can't lose them. That's different. But it's not frictionless.
The moment you become responsible for recovery codes, backup phrases, and proof artifacts, you've introduced new assumptions. Lose the keys and your Bitcoin is trapped forever. Forget the backup and no customer service saves you.
So you haven't eliminated trust. You've moved it.
The real question isn't whether TBV is trustless. It's whether the trust you're taking on is actually simpler and more understandable than the trust you're removing.
To me, that's the real standard.
Not zero trust.
Clear trust.
@BabylonLabs_io #baby $BABY
When Babylon says your Bitcoin stays on Bitcoin and you hold the keys, my first instinct is to ask: what dependency actually disappeared, and what new risks took its place?
That's how I'm looking at TBV.
Most people celebrate Babylon because it removes the custodian. You don't trust a company anymore. Your Bitcoin never leaves Bitcoin. That's the pitch.
But removing one layer of trust isn't the same as removing all trust.
With wrapped Bitcoin, a custodian holds your keys and you hope they don't lose them. With TBV, YOU hold the keys and now you're the one who can't lose them. That's different. But it's not frictionless.
The moment you become responsible for recovery codes, backup phrases, and proof artifacts, you've introduced new assumptions. Lose the keys and your Bitcoin is trapped forever. Forget the backup and no customer service saves you.
So you haven't eliminated trust. You've moved it.
The real question isn't whether TBV is trustless. It's whether the trust you're taking on is actually simpler and more understandable than the trust you're removing.
To me, that's the real standard.
Not zero trust.
Clear trust.
@BabylonLabs_io #baby $BABY