Many people think that locking XRP into a cold wallet is the ultimate solution. Hardware offline, hackers have no access—sounds foolproof. But I recently realized that the true risks have already taken on a new form.

By 2026, the crypto market will be completely different. Not long ago, XRP obtained anti-money laundering regulatory registration in the UK, and a major ruling in the US confirmed its non-security status. These are positive developments, indicating that the industry is moving toward regulation. But with regulation comes new challenges—regulatory oversight has become more stringent.

I've seen too many pitfalls that holders have fallen into: private keys stored securely, yet critical documents like purchase receipts and wallet activation records are a mess. When regulatory inspections or asset divisions occur, these become fatal flaws. The coins are in your wallet, no mistake, but if you can't prove "this is mine," legal proceedings will still get stuck. There have been cases where virtual assets couldn't be recognized as legitimate property in lawsuits due to incomplete proof chains.

Therefore, more and more experienced players now realize that having only the private key is not enough. You must solidify both the "ownership structure" and the "document records." This is no small matter—it's more effective than buying an extra hardware wallet.

What are the specific steps? First, clarify the ownership structure of the assets. Is it held individually or jointly? If multiple parties are involved, what are each person's rights and shares? All of this must be documented clearly in writing. Second, maintain a complete transaction trail. From the moment you purchase XRP, keep screenshots, order numbers, timestamps for each step. Third, back up and organize regularly. Don't wait until you need it and scramble to find everything.

Cold wallets are a good way to prevent hackers, but they can't protect against legal risks caused by ambiguous ownership. The new definition of asset security is a combination of technical security and legal confirmation.