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What Will Happen To The Cryptocurrencies Post Your Death?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are stored on the blockchain in crypto wallets. It is difficult to understand where one’s accumulated coins will go after his death. Here are the solutions to adopt and prevent cryptocurrency loss.

By Bruno MarcouxPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Cryptocurrencies after owner's death

Cryptocurrency refers to the digital currency that utilizes cryptography technology for maintaining security. Using cryptography makes it really hard to counterfeit the coins or steal them. Along with this, there is a disadvantage that you might face. The difficulty is that it is nearly impossible to pass on after buying crypto. There is no guarantee on how long Bitcoin will be present in the crypto markets. But if BTC stays for long, then it would probably last you for the longest time.

Have you ever thought about what will happen to your cryptocurrencies after you die? Here we have brought some insights into what exactly your cryptos will go through after you are dead if you do not plan to sell your crypto coins.

Who Would Be Able To Access Your Cryptocurrencies Post Your Death

The truth about the cryptocurrency wallets is that until you die, no one will be able to access it even they use TOR or VPN. But post your death, the scenario is pretty different.

In order to access your crypto wallets, you would need two keys termed as PGP keys, private key and public key. A private key is an unchangeable password that is generated when you create a brand new cryptocurrency wallet. The public key, on the other hand, is a string of random characters and is visible to anyone. They can use it as an address for receiving and sending cryptocurrency. A different private key permits the owner of the wallet to access the contents of the wallet.

Thus, it is simple - you have to make sure that someone has a copy of the private key before you die. But it can also be said that it is not at all safe and as well as viable.

Can You Have Beneficiaries For Your Cryptocurrencies?

While it is a lot easier for you to have beneficiaries for your physical properties, on the contrary, it is a lot difficult considering the case of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTE), Ethereum (ETH), Zcash etc.

Most of the cryptocurrency exchanges do not permit you to name a contact or have beneficiaries with whom you can contact and ask him to reach the cryptocurrency bank after you die.

Taking an example, the largest crypto trading platform Coinbase would not flag any of the unclaimed assets, and everything depends on the family members who need to come forward to claim the cryptocurrencies of the deceased.

Is Making "Cryptocurrency Will" Possible?

One of the possible solutions for deciding your cryptocurrency’s destiny is to make a will. This would make sure that your stored cryptocurrency is not lost anywhere. You can outline the details of your crypto assets on the blockchain in your will and later let your family members know that you have stored cryptocurrencies on the blockchain.

Make a note that wills are not designed to hold any private information and technically are public. A will would not enter the public records almost immediately, but at the same time, it is not safer to disclose the keys of your crypto wallets.

How Will You Give Your Digital Wallet Password To Anyone Prior Your Death?

It is absolutely not recommended that you put your crypto passwords in the will correctly, while you can create a particular trust to store the password.

You can also do another thing, which is you can divide the password into two and then store them in two different trusts. Make sure you number the parts before storing them. Also, the beneficiaries must know so that there are no complications.

Can Beneficiaries Withdraw Deceased’s Cryptocurrencies By Showing The Death Certificate?

It depends on the deceased’s crypto exchange. For example, if the dead had stored his cryptocurrencies in the Coinbase exchange, it would already have a beneficiary name allotted. This helps the beneficiary to collect the cryptocurrencies stored in them by just providing them with the deceased person’s death certificate. It is evident that the deceased had already outlined all the details of his coin in their will.

These are the possible solutions that you can come up with if anyone holding cryptocurrencies has died. If you happen to be the holder, you must make sure that your cryptocurrencies are not lost. It is better to make a will beforehand but not disclosing the complete will before you die.

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About the Creator

Bruno Marcoux

Bruno Marcoux is a dark web enthusiast specializing in cryptocurrency, blockchain, cybersecurity, law enforcement and more. He has been in the field for a good long time and thus has a stronghold of the occurrences of the Dark Web.

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