When Bitcoin Must Be Inherited

[Agios]

Over the past decade, the number of Bitcoin investors and other types of crypto assets has grown tremendously. Based on data by Coinmetrics, there are currently around 12 million Bitcoin millionaires in the world. However, there are those who die every year, without heirs who can access Bitcoin. The amount reaches 4 million Bitcoin (around US $ 40 billion), according to Coincover.
Meanwhile, based on the results of a survey by the Cremation Institute, of 1,150 respondents, 89 percent of them are very worried about losing their crypt assets. However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.
I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

[1714094449]

1714094449

[1714094449]

1714094449

[1714094449]

1714094449

[crwth]

I don't think it's necessary to think to have an app or another exchange to have access to the private keys for that. Basic instruction towards your inheritance would suffice. Might it be linked to help them understand how to extract the crypto or just plain message with what the inheritance is, probably something related to that sense?

Not your keys, not your coins.

[mk4]

I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

To have such a feature will most likely require a centralized authority to have access to your wallet's private keys, which is obviously a no-go. The simplest thing I can think of is simply having a written instructions on how and where to get your written mnemonic phrase, and how to import it on a hardware wallet or something.

[Darker45]

And then, all of a sudden, comes the idea of a third-party storage facility that would erase all the worries and anxieties of everyone possibly dying, missing, acquiring amnesia, and so on without ever sharing their seed or their private keys to the closest person they can trust! Something like a... bank?

[boyptc]

Crypto exchange will fix the inheritance for their customers? that's not a good idea imo.

You can set this on your own and just like what you have said on that report, there are people who have already planned it well. It's a matter of talk and discussion to your closest relative how you can give bitcoin to them as your last will.

[ranochigo]

One of the better ideas that I've discovered so far is the use of multisig.

A 2-of-4 multisig is set up for the user. 2 of the key is held by the owner while one of the key is given to the heir and the other is included inside one of the clause of the will. That way, the heir cannot access the funds without the key being released from the will. There are several services that does this for you for a small fee.

[Genemind]

A deed or will is enough to pass on a crypto wallet or storage, or you can even just let someone from your family know what to do with your crypto in case of emergency. Creating such feature will beat the purpose of being anonymous, and having a third party to entrust your money once you pass away. This will require a lot of process for both you and the platform. I doubt if exchange or wallets will go to that extent.

Also, take note that even highly secured platforms are getting hacked. You don't want all your credentials and even all your crypto assets to be kept in a platform susceptible to hacking.

[Wexnident]

However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.

This says it all. They're scared of how to pass their crypto assets? Plan for it. It's not that it's impossible for a 3rd party to be responsible for crypto inheritance, but rather there's no need to. Crypto assets are supposed to be anonymous assets, and leaving them up to third party to give to your family basically states who you are already. You can just plan ahead of time and update the plan regularly, especially if you're nearing death. Third parties can do whatever the hell they want with your wallets and keys even before it's given to your descendants.

Just use banks in the end though if you don't want to plan anything. Crypto could be said to be the asset for the ones who want security and the ones who are doing everything they can manually about it, and banks/fiat are the ones that just are too lazy to even bother and just want everything to be automated aka done by others.

[Debonaire217]

For me, the inheritance of bitcoin should be done by the owner of the bitcoin themselves through leaving a note which contains the passphrase or accounts which contain the bitcoins. Because having an application to do it is not trusted especially an exchange that isn't providing us the private key to the accounts.

Or maybe, what looks more legal is to have an attorney process the inheritance just like how the usual assets inherited.

[samputin]

For me, the inheritance of bitcoin should be done by the owner of the bitcoin themselves through leaving a note which contains the passphrase or accounts which contain the bitcoins. Because having an application to do it is not trusted especially an exchange that isn't providing us the private key to the accounts.

It would be more trustworthy that way, that the owner gives the key to his wallet personally to his heir. And personally, that's what I would do. It's probably a trust issue, but mostly being cautious. As a saying goes, "Money is the root of all evil."

Or maybe, what looks more legal is to have an attorney process the inheritance just like how the usual assets inherited.

Maybe. But bitcoin is decentralized. So, IMO, maybe an attorney is not that necessary. Just the proper agreement of the owner and his heir.

[amishmanish]

One of the better ideas that I've discovered so far is the use of multisig.

A 2-of-4 multisig is set up for the user. 2 of the key is held by the owner while one of the key is given to the heir and the other is included inside one of the clause of the will. That way, the heir cannot access the funds without the key being released from the will. There are several services that does this for you for a small fee.

Inheritance and will are probably one of the simplest use cases for bitcoin. One of the main examples that Andreas Antonopuolos shares in his old video on advanced bitcoin scripting involved a similar multisig implementation that he explains in a very easy to understand way. The video is worth a watch. He also explains how the stack in bitcoin scripts works for verification of signatures and transactions.

[davis196]

Over the past decade, the number of Bitcoin investors and other types of crypto assets has grown tremendously. Based on data by Coinmetrics, there are currently around 12 million Bitcoin millionaires in the world. However, there are those who die every year, without heirs who can access Bitcoin. The amount reaches 4 million Bitcoin (around US $ 40 billion), according to Coincover.
Meanwhile, based on the results of a survey by the Cremation Institute, of 1,150 respondents, 89 percent of them are very worried about losing their crypt assets. However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.
I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

12 million Bitcoin millionaires???Are you kidding me?
The entire amount of Bitcoin users worldwide is around 12 million(maybe less) and you are writing about 12 million BTC millionaires.This is most likely fake/wrong data.
Anyway,if less rich BTC users plan to give their crypto wealth to their kids,more BTC will stay inactive after they die,which means that the total BTC market supply will get even more limited,which means that Bitcoin price has a better chance of going to the moon.
I usually don't care about what the rich people are going with their assets,so this topic isn't that interesting to me.I will always stay poor...

[Eugenar]

I don't think that it is necessary with this crypto world, there are many ways that their family can now their accounts once the wallet owner dies, its better that your wallet accounts information is saved on your desktop or on the paper that hey can see once you will get die or better, you may tell it o them so you wouldn't have a problem telling to them your sccount information, if you really love your family, you should trust them with you bug heart, there is nothing bad that they will do with your wallet, just trust them.

Crypto exchange will fix the inheritance for their customers? that's not a good idea IMO.

You can set this on your own and just like what you have said on that report, there are people who have already planned it well. It's a matter of talk and discussion to your closest relative how you can give bitcoin to them as your last will.

Indeed if you are a bitcoin investor, and you have invested a huge amount of money, you should think that you may get die for some other days and your money should be used by you family, you should know how they can access on your account

[KrisAlex18]

That's a good idea but I think we don't need it anymore, there are many things that we should fix first before creating what you are saying, if you are hilding big amount of money or you are investing so much more money, you should think that there are many things that might happen on you, you should have a plan how this money can be used by your families once you get died, if you don't have any plan about that and you get die, your money would be wasted, your hard work and effort to gain that money will be now wasted because no one uses it.

For me, the inheritance of bitcoin should be done by the owner of the bitcoin themselves through leaving a note which contains the passphrase or accounts which contain the bitcoins. Because having an application to do it is not trusted especially an exchange that isn't providing us the private key to the accounts.

Or maybe, what looks more legal is to have an attorney process the inheritance just like how the usual assets inherited.

Well said, that us possible to do for the people who are investing in bitcoin, there will be many fake websites that will do the same thing when it will be created.

[avikz]

Over the past decade, the number of Bitcoin investors and other types of crypto assets has grown tremendously. Based on data by Coinmetrics, there are currently around 12 million Bitcoin millionaires in the world. However, there are those who die every year, without heirs who can access Bitcoin. The amount reaches 4 million Bitcoin (around US $ 40 billion), according to Coincover.
Meanwhile, based on the results of a survey by the Cremation Institute, of 1,150 respondents, 89 percent of them are very worried about losing their crypt assets. However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.
I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

Why do you need a separate service for the same. Legal firms are already there who provides such service. The only thing you will have to do is to create a will and register it. Legal firms are obligated to maintain the secrecy of your details. If they do not adhere to that, you can get a great indemnification. Just pass on the private key in a sealed envelope to the legal firm along with the will and your next generation will receive it in a similar way after your demise. That's very simple and doesn't require a fortune to create a will.

Don't really need a plithora of new services for cryptocurrency. Whatever we have already, can be used with little smartness!

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

For me, the inheritance of bitcoin should be done by the owner of the bitcoin themselves through leaving a note which contains the passphrase or accounts which contain the bitcoins. Because having an application to do it is not trusted especially an exchange that isn't providing us the private key to the accounts.

Or maybe, what looks more legal is to have an attorney process the inheritance just like how the usual assets inherited.

Yes, for me this is the 'right way', although bitcoin is a new asset, it can still follow the same protocol on how to transfer your inheritance to your love ones or next of kin. I'm a advocate of keep it simple theory, so in essence, we can apply this simply but yet cost effective route. Just talk to who you ever wanted to transfer, or better it as early as today educate them, and write everything down. I don't like third party services as it will defeat the purpose of bitcoin's decentralization.

[fiulpro]

Over the past decade, the number of Bitcoin investors and other types of crypto assets has grown tremendously. Based on data by Coinmetrics, there are currently around 12 million Bitcoin millionaires in the world. However, there are those who die every year, without heirs who can access Bitcoin. The amount reaches 4 million Bitcoin (around US $ 40 billion), according to Coincover.
Meanwhile, based on the results of a survey by the Cremation Institute, of 1,150 respondents, 89 percent of them are very worried about losing their crypt assets. However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.
I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

What I don't understand is :

If those 89% are worried about loosing their assets when they die , why are they not talking it out with any personal lawyer or maybe their wallet company ?

The thing is , it is advisable now a days to actually go and search your options , most wallet companies are providing inheritance plans for free. You can even add nominee in your account.

I do use a mobile wallet and few months back I received an email from Zebpay.
I will show you guys the SC of that -


Therefore I do believe that if you talk it out with the wallet you are using , you can very easily ask them to add this feature if this isn't yet added.

For people with paper wallets and hardware wallets they should give precise information to some person they trust more than anything which can be followed up upon their death.
You can also hire any lawyer to give some random things to your family upon your demise and just hide the hardware wallet in one of them , hopefully they will know what to do with it .

[Haunebu]

The total number of BTC adopters around the world is still pretty low currently. On top of this, the number of investors who invested huge amounts usually treat them like stocks or other assets and don't focus on passing it down to their family members.

Various reasons could be laziness, they don't think they will die anytime soon, family members might find crypto too complicated to understand etc. This applies to FIAT too if you think about it.

[Gotumoot]

Over the past decade, the number of Bitcoin investors and other types of crypto assets has grown tremendously. Based on data by Coinmetrics, there are currently around 12 million Bitcoin millionaires in the world. However, there are those who die every year, without heirs who can access Bitcoin. The amount reaches 4 million Bitcoin (around US $ 40 billion), according to Coincover.
Meanwhile, based on the results of a survey by the Cremation Institute, of 1,150 respondents, 89 percent of them are very worried about losing their crypt assets. However, only 23 percent have a specific plan to pass it on to the closest person, for example to their husband, wife or children.
I think this is a very good idea, and I hope that someday there will be a crypto exchange and a crypto wallet that provides inherited features, so users will be safe and comfortable.

I agree I hope that one day there would be a service provider that could set it up like if you haven't log in for a certain of time they would send all the account information or details on your chosen person.
You would create an account on their platform and put up a email or any contact information for who would inherit your crypto on their platform.
I think this could be a good on exchanges when so we wouldn't worry about a thing.

[bitcoin_paypal]

You can just write your seed phrase in your testament, why not?