So you say I need to trust them not to block me out, so then while they can't access my crypto they can block me out from using it and same goes for other wallets? So let's say the government decides that they want to outlaw BTc then they can just prevent us from acess to it through these companies as a collective or individually? So my power still lies in having to trust that Ledger or other wallet providers and not directly in the blockchain?
No... That literally the opposite of what he says. Hardware wallet providers
should not have access to your keys. They cannot control how you spend your funds. They could possibly push out a firmware update which requires the user's participation to brick the device but your funds will be recoverable from the seeds.
If you are in sole control your seed and by extension the private keys, you are not in control of any companies and/or wallet providers. You can and will be able to import the seeds or private keys into another wallet and use it normally.
Can you please help me understand one thing,
So the Recovery Key Phrase that is used to restore our wallet, so even if all the wallet operators and providers that we have now are shut down, If I want to get access to my private key I can still find someone who can decode it for me? Because sure we can use recovery phrase with other wallets but if they all get orders to shut down where can I decode it myself to get my private key?