We've all heard: "Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins." But what we really need to be saying is: "Not Your Keys, Not Your Data" Jim Collinson breaks it down…

There's a maxim in the land of crypto currencies that you'll undoubtedly have heard: Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins. It's a warning, but it also points to the underlying nature of what a crypto currency actually is. A collection of cryptographic keys that you keep control of.

So it's a warning, it's a practical reminder, a sharp rebuke against anyone leaving their money on an exchange, or on a wallet or service where they they don't exclusively hold the keys. Because there is no more visceral reminder of the need to have control over digital assets than a permanent financial loss.

But why do we stand for this elsewhere? The real maxim should be "not your keys, not your data." Or maybe "not your keys, not your life." Because when we use all these cloud services and apps, that is exactly the situation. Or even many existing decentralised services.

You've given over your digital life to tech giants, and then you're renting it back in by viewing ads, or being commoditised. And there is no realistic expectation that you can meaningfully get it back at all. Even if you wanted to.

That's why we are creating a new kind of network. And an entirely new relationship between you, and the data that makes up your life, and how these services will interact with it. And it's giving you cryptographically secure, direct control over your data. Everything that makes up your online life.

It's an autonomous network, that is controlled by no one, so it's owned by everyone. A new form of cloud. And you hold the key.