It is almost ironic to be productive after you die. Even though you can enjoy a rich and luxurious life while you are alive, you can hardly make any use of it in your afterlife. Therefore, passing it on to an heir is the best option. Many people write wills for passing on their assets and money to their heirs. Although they are writing it, the court entirely assists their heirs in getting access to their inheritance.
However, in the case of cryptocurrencies, this is not how it works. There is a chance the owner takes it to their graves, though metaphorically.
The more rhetoric explanation for this would be that the cryptocurrencies might get lost after its owner’s deaths. We have to understand that cryptocurrencies are very complex and private for the safety of the owner. Suppose your heir doesn’t know about the secret key or receive it. The digital assets that you own will be lost forever in the network or blockchain technology once you are not around to look after them.
Here’s a fact- Financial Times reported that around 2.3 million to 3.8 million Bitcoins went missing sometime in the past. At the same time, it can be considered that the death of the owners was the prime reason behind it. You can choose platforms like click money system for making profits, but you have to remember that it has to be passed forward.
The Quadriga CX mishap
This story was responsible for taking the crypto market by shock and frightened the crypto traders. In 2018 December, Gerald W. Cotton, the young founder of the exchange, unexpectedly passed away. Unfortunately, Gerald’s death closed access to the crypto assets that hold a value of $250 million in some cold storage. Jesse Powell, his widow, firmly claims that there was no one except him who has access to this cold storage of a specific exchange’s wallet.
Some of the investors refuse to believe the fact about Cotton’s death. Shortly, 115,000 investors had asked to exhume the body so that it can be proved that he is dead. These kinds of incidents are enough to put us through intense planning on crypto inheritance.
Planning crypto inheritance
Before you plan on crypto inheritance, you would like to talk to your heirs regarding this technology and how it works. The information indeed is essential even before you pass it on to them. In case of unfortunate events, this knowledge will come handy when they find your private key.
With that said, there are numerous ways to ensure that your assets are being dispersed in a process you choose.
1. Put it in your will along with other assets
If you have a will or planning to make a will, you can consider adding your private to be passed on to your loved ones. Naturally, you might not wish to display your passwords, private keys, and PINs inside your will. This is the reason; expert digital asset legal advisors say to make a memorandum to your will. This is where you can mention the credentials and critical data.
A prosecutor can hold the memorandum of your will. Further, you have to choose an executor. S/he then can hand over the protocol. Here is a drawback. For example, the USA digital account’s ownership is controlled by the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Asset Act (RUFADAA). According to them, the will might be insufficient; instead, they should sign the Terms of Service Agreement with exchanges. These, in case of owner’s death, will give out specific rules for accessing the account.
2. Projects for Inheritance
Looking into this matter, many projects like Safe Haven, Casa, and PassOn have emerged to look up the safety and authenticity while crypto inheritance. These institutes help you to encrypt your credentials and pass it on if different ways.
3. A smart contract
There is a system that will keep sending you emails at intervals. Once you do not reply to this mail for a given time, it will forward your credentials to your heir’s address. There is a drawback to this. In most cases, the heirs do not know about this concept or how to use it.
4. Pick an exchange that will help you
Some of the transactions will make sure the asset is passed on. On providing certification of death and proper identification, individual exchanges will give out your credentials if you had a pact.
The above information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by London Loves Business and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any investment decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision.
Leave a Comment