'It just takes one big hack to get people nervous': CoinCover’s Anthony Yeung on crypto security

• Security, stablecoins and RWA are the top three crypto sectors to watch in 2025, according to CoinCover executive Anthony Yeung.
• Traders should keep wallet security simple, use common sense and not just rely on technology.
• Whether for retail or institutional traders, the key principle is the same: spreading risk is important.

Security is a hot topic in crypto after the Bybit hack, Coinbase’s security breach incident shared by the team on their blog, and the recent attacks faced by crypto entrepreneurs who dropped details of their holdings on the internet to get robbed or attacked hours later. 

CoinCover’s Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Yeung spoke to FXStreet in an exclusive interview, sharing his thoughts on crypto security, his top recommendations for retail and institutional investors to safeguard their holdings, and solutions to best prevent hacks. 

What are the top three sectors to watch in crypto in 2025?

Stablecoins: It is, for me, the biggest topic this year. There is tangible volume that is going through the industry today. It’s an area that is super hot. More payment providers are adopting stablecoins to move funds around in a cheap manner. 

RWA: Another area that is key to watch. For example, people tokenizing properties for retail investors or fractionalising it to make it easier for investors that encompasses all this, and it is a trend. 

Security: Every single year it keeps evolving. Protecting against loss of access, protecting transactions from smart contract risks, insurance, is paramount to the success of the whole industry. 

What are your top recommendations for traders to secure their crypto portfolio holdings?

I think I need to stress there is nothing that is bulletproof. Focusing on layers of protection, updating processes chaotically, not sticking to the same thing again and again, changing passwords, simple things to improve security. 

Using the right mixture of hot and cold wallets to spread out risk, set up the right process in place to protect against loss of access, backup codes and keys. Keep it really simple, just use your common sense and don’t just rely on technology. 

Is self-custody the best solution for long-term holders/ investors?

You need a balanced approach to holding funds. Self custody gives you more control but the world has evolved and custodial solutions are much more sophisticated now and much more equipped to handle more funds. With regulation improving, the risk of holding funds in a  custodial wallet is much lower. The natural place to start is a custodial wallet as self-custody is still very difficult to use. It is difficult to move funds around. Even crypto experts would say that. In the long term, it just depends on the amount of value. Spreading risk is more important, and one approach may not be the right away.

Are exchange's cold wallets the best solution to prevent hacks?

The market has evolved, and there are a lot of options for exchanges. For retail and institutions, the concepts are the same, but the level of how far you go with it are different. But a lot of institutions can now spread their risk a lot more. They can make sure their keys are backed up, keeping things segregated. Institutions are also using protection solutions to help them monitor transactions that carry risk.

Holding funds in your own environment, rather than exchanges, these technologies are helping institutions protect against hacks. Insurance has become a hot topic, but it is complex. 

What are your thoughts on the future of native tokens of Ethereum-staking solutions and projects that secure user assets?

Staking is only going to continue growing, so the upgrade to Pectra is going to drive more people to come into the space, whether its retail or institutions.Staking could become less decentralized, but what you really care about is that funds are held securely and that it's easy for institutions to interact with staking services. Minimizing security and smart contract risks are absolutely critical to the success of the staking industry. Because it’s just going to take one big hack for people to get nervous.