When you buy cryptocurrencies, you need to decide how to store your funds - or to be exact, your private keys that give access to your funds.
You have two options: A custodial account or a non-custodial wallet. When you buy crypto on a centralized exchange like Coinbase, they hold custody over the private keys corresponding to your account. With a non-custodial wallet, you own your keys. At first, it might be most convenient to use a custodial wallet and not worry about securing your keys, but this comes at the price of giving up ownership and full control over your crypto assets.
The table below gives an overview of the differences between custodial and non-custodial wallets:
So what should you choose? Ultimately, this decision is yours to make. If you want to be fully in control of your crypto-assets and not depend on central institutions, a non-custodial wallet like Ultimate might be a good fit for you.