# kaal:claim:3936876-010

**Claim.** A private key differs from a password in that it is immutable and cannot be reset, so if the key is lost or stolen access to the digital asset may be permanently lost.

**Type.** failure  **Support.** argued

**Holds when.**

- applies to key based digital asset ownership on public blockchains

**Source quote.**

> However, private keys are distinguishable from a password in that a private key is immutable – it cannot be reset.82 If a user loses their private key or if the private key is stolen, access to the digital asset may be lost.

**From.** Wulf A. Kaal, Hayley Howe, *Custody of Digital Assets* (2021), II.2 Custody Requirements for Digital Assets, page 15

**Cite as.** Wulf A. Kaal, Hayley Howe, Custody of Digital Assets (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3936876

**Verify.** sha256 of source PDF `9bc0903d01910460298e754c451f027df4324367359800a98ee8e638d94aff55` at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wulfkaal/Academic-Papers/main/papers/pdf/Kaal%20and%20Howe%20-%202021%20-%20Custody%20of%20Digital%20Assets.pdf

**Failure mode.** irrecoverable private key loss  (family: custody-and-key-loss)

**Topics.** institutional-design

**Keywords.** private-keys, key-management, irreversibility, asset-loss

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of the claim. Its sha256 is the content hash used for attestation.