There is a saying in cryptocurrency: “not your keys; not your coins.”

In essence, if you don't control the keys to the wallet containing the cryptocurrency—usually a series of random words generated at the time that the wallet is created—then you don't really own the money inside it.

It's the difference between having your money in a bank that actually possesses your cash and lets you access it, or in an impenetrable safe where only you know the combination. If you possess the cash and the safe, you truly own the money.

The same can be said for encryption.