While it might seem tricky at first, there are ways to pass on your crypto assets to your loved ones after you have left this world and it is known as “Crypto Inheritance Procedure“.

If you don’t know the location and key for your loved one’s cryptocurrency wallet, those funds may be lost forever when they die. However, will be able to access exchange wallet by providing documents.

How Crypto Legacy Access is Difficult

The digital frontier of crypto offers immense potential, but navigating its vast landscape can be perplexing, especially when it comes to legacy planning. Here, the decentralized nature of crypto assets throws a curveball into the traditional inheritance process, presenting a unique set of challenges for those wishing to pass on their digital wealth.

The Hidden Treasure Hunt: Unlike tangible assets like houses or jewellery, crypto exists purely in the digital realm, residing within wallets that may be scattered across various platforms and guarded by cryptic passwords. For loved ones, this creates a treasure hunt with a ticking clock. If they’re not aware of your crypto holdings, let alone their location and access points, these valuable assets could vanish into the digital ether, lost forever.

Unlocking the Vault: Even if your loved ones stumble upon your hidden digital stash, accessing it is another hurdle. Crypto wallets are secured by private keys, often represented by seemingly random strings of characters known as seed phrases. Without these keys, the vault remains sealed, leaving your inheritors staring at a locked door while the potential within continues to fluctuate with the volatile nature of the market.

Plan Crypto Heritage in Advance

Crossing the Bridge: Thankfully, innovative solutions have emerged to bridge this gap between death and digital inheritance. Some options include:

• Written seed phrases: The simplest yet riskiest method. These phrases act as master keys, but entrusting them to others presents vulnerabilities, requiring utmost trust and secure storage.
• Encrypted private keys: More sophisticated than plain text, these keys are locked behind layers of encryption, offering an extra layer of security but potentially creating access hurdles for inheritors.
• Dead man’s switch: Taking inspiration from spy movie tropes, this solution involves automatically releasing the private keys or instructions for accessing them upon confirmation of your death, ensuring your loved ones aren’t left in the dark.

Beyond the Keys: Ultimately, navigating the intricacies of crypto inheritance goes beyond just securing access. Careful planning is crucial. Consider:

• Informing your loved ones: Awareness is key. Let trusted individuals know about your crypto holdings, their locations, and potential access methods.
• Estate planning: Integrate your crypto assets into your will or legal documents, specifying their distribution and access procedures.
• Choosing guardians: Designate trusted individuals familiar with crypto as custodians or executors who can navigate the technical complexities and legal hurdles.

By acknowledging the challenges of crypto inheritance and proactively devising solutions, you can ensure your digital legacy survives you and reaches the intended hands, allowing your loved ones to claim not just a piece of the virtual pie, but also the peace of mind that comes with secure and seamless digital inheritance.

How to Access Deceased Person Crypto from Exchange

The discourse of “what happens to your cryptocurrency when you die” is becoming more of a concern than a question by crypto investors as the year progresses. While there are known legal procedures for passing physical assets to beneficiaries or heirs, the process for cryptocurrency remains rather intricate, probably due to the nascency of the industry.

While majority of exchanges have a crypto inheritance procedure, as an example I will share only the procedure which is adopted by Binance.

If you are heir to someone who has passed away you can contact through Binance Customer Support or email [email protected] and inform them about Crypto Inheritance procedure, To initiate the process, the families or heirs of the deceased would have to provide certain documents, including death and kinship certificates for verification before the transfer of the assets can be authorized.

Once the request is received a 30 day wait period will need to complete to ensure the other user does not login to their account. And later funds will be transferred if all criteria checks out.

The only advantage of a CEX in this scenario is that under one account all crypto assets can be located, whereas in non custodial wallets if the deceased person has not shared a wallet, no one will know if exists.