Las Vegas Hosts Fight To Codify Self-Custody: Bitcoin 2026

Attendees voiced mixed feelings. A Bitcoin maxi told Sandmark the heavy presence of government officials and polished presentations made the event feel less rebellious.

Lawmaker shares custody lessons

Representative Nick Begich, a Republican from Alaska, opened an early panel on 27 Apr by recounting his entry into Bitcoin in January 2013 and subsequent losses in the 2014 Mt. Gox collapse. "I got involved in Bitcoin in January of 2013 and I was one of the many folks here today who were impacted by the Mt. Gox debacle," he said. "That was highly instructive for me as an individual on the importance of self-custody and making sure that we have self-custody rights enshrined in law." He compared potential future risks to the 1933 executive order forcing Americans to surrender gold holdings.

Begich announced he would soon reintroduce the BITCOIN Act, now rebranded as the American Reserves Modernization Act (ARMA). The updated bill aims to establish a US strategic Bitcoin reserve while strengthening protections for individuals' rights to control their digital assets. "This act affirms and protects the rights of persons to maintain full control over Bitcoin and other digital assets," he said, reading from the draft. The legislation was previously introduced alongside Senator Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto lawmaker who described the original cryptocurrency as "freedom money," according to an official report from the event organizer. 

Begich noted discussions with the House Financial Services Committee to build broader support. He acknowledged that more than 90% of bills fail to become law but stressed the community must advocate persistently.

Your keys, your coins 

The mood in the room echoed findings from a recent survey by Trezor, a hardware wallet provider. It found that 72% of crypto holders would choose a hardware wallet for storing Bitcoin for ten or more years, with just 5.5% opting for a centralized exchange. Many surveyed had been in crypto for over five years.

For newer entrants, however, the responsibility of managing individual keys remains a significant deterrent. Fear of losing a seed phrase or account access was the top barrier to full self-custody, cited by 31% of respondents who do not fully self-custody. At the same time, 44% said control of private keys was the most important factor when deciding how to store crypto, indicating strong conviction paired with limited confidence.

Ben Irving, senior technical writer at Trezor, told Sandmark that growing institutional adoption has complicated what self-custody means in practice. While some providers now offer centralized account backups, Trezor maintains a model in which users retain sole access to their keys. The company has introduced "split backups," allowing users to create multiple seed phrases stored separately. Access to some of them enables account recovery.

"The keys are the strongest tool against the possible threat of confiscation should regulations not codify rights over self-custody into law," Irving added. "Even if they took your device, you can still recover your funds to another device... I won't say anybody's immune to it, but confiscation is probably less of a real threat to us right now."

Industry leaders back sovereignty

Joining Begich were Joe Kelly, CEO of Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained, and Zach Herbert, CEO of US hardware wallet maker Foundation Devices. Both framed self-custody as a core American value tied to freedom, privacy and property rights. Herbert emphasized his company's decision to manufacture wallets in New England to mitigate national security risks, citing concerns over foreign hardware like certain Chinese Wi-Fi routers.

Trezor has opposed measures such as Section 33 of Kentucky's House Bill 380, which critics said could require hardware wallet makers to assist with seed phrase resets, effectively creating backdoors. "The problem is that a properly designed hardware wallet can’t do that," Trezor Bitcoin analyst Lucien Bourdon said at the time. "The seed never leaves the device. The manufacturer doesn't have it and has no way to get it." The measure cleared the Kentucky House, but still requires Senate approval.

Rights require vigilance

Grant McCarty of the Bitcoin Policy Institute captured the prevailing sentiment: "American rights – the rights to self-custody, to own Bitcoin, to transact privately – are not a given. You have to continue to fight for these rights, day in and day out."

With legislation, hardware innovation and user education progressing, the central question remains whether these efforts will outpace shifting political winds.