Every other asset you "own" is an entry in someone else’s database — a broker, a bank, a registrar. Self-custodied bitcoin is the exception: keys in your possession are ownership no institution can freeze, lose, or lend out. Exchange-collapse history (Mt. Gox through FTX) is the case study.
The craft is doing it without becoming your own single point of failure: hardware wallets, tested seed backups, and — at serious size — multisig. Our
wallets section and
self-custody guide exist for exactly this.