This is also confirmed by the total amount of BTC hacked from Mt. Gox in 2014 (850 000), which means that the trust in such services was very high - but it is unbelievable that this is the case even today - millions of BTC are in custodial crypto wallets.
One good thing that came out from this series of hacking incidents is that users slowly understood that trusting others to keep your coins safe can lead to horrendous losses. One step at a time. People still need time. We are, after all, a population taught to trust third parties (banks) with our money. Our parents did it, and so did their parents. That shift to becoming independent will take decades.
Thanks op for bringing it to light. I think Satoshi wanted to boost adoption this way, and it was probably a good call.
It was a good call, I totally agree. Satoshi knew the complexity of the software and technology he developed, and he knew that many people would rather not play around and experiment with things they don't understand. He offered them an easy solution and if they got hooked to it, they would ask for the proper tools themselves.
I wish you understand it. There are many things only few of you understand.
Do tell please. Don't be shy. Educate your herd of sheep.