One goal is to automate most of the work of a transfer agent, not to eliminate them completely. And that’s the open question: how many roles in the process can be simplified and to what degree?

https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answerstransferagenthtm.htm...

> So if you lose your private keys you're out all your shares? Or maybe you get hacked and lose your retirement savings?

You act as if identity and account theft aren't things. A private key sounds a lot better than a 9 digit number with predictabilities and a bit of social engineering.