# thoughts on going non-custodial

By [dougo.eth](https://paragraph.com/@dougo) · 2022-03-27

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After having used a large central exchange for 9 months, I decided to go custodial and create wallets, maintain keys, and so on so that I could explore DeFi, buy NFTs, chase airdrops, and keep ‘the man’ out of my business.

Despite a number of wrong turns, it has been a worthwhile experience and I have learned a lot.

Among these are,

gas is expensive

L2s rule

there are soooo many scammers

Discord is a must

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*Originally published on [dougo.eth](https://paragraph.com/@dougo/thoughts-on-going-non-custodial)*