If you are a young fortune-hunter toiling away on a computer in a basement, the prospect of death probably isn’t among your top considerations. Equally, if the main draw to crypto is its relative privacy, you may not be particularly eager to share your private keys with your loved ones, as a hacker could sift through your papers, weaponize your keys and empty your savings.
Also read: Death & Bitcoin: How I Prepared My Family’s Digital Inheritance
Prepare for the Inevitable
Most privacy-obsessed, wealth-chasing geeks are used to keeping their private keys a total secret. But when the Grim Reaper shows up unannounced, the family of an anonymous crypto-millionaire can be left without access to their relative’s riches. In one of the most widely publicized recent examples, paranoid U.S. investor Matthew Mellon died earlier this year, leaving few clues to a crypto fortune reportedly valued at more than $500 million.
In South Africa, for instance, thousands of people have invested in cryptocurrencies. However, once they pass away, many of those individuals will die with their holdings.
“As a young industry, with little regulation, it is crucial for investors to become more responsible in their attitude towards cryptocurrency investing,” Eran Brill, an investment management director at Stonehage Fleming in South Africa, recently told one news site. “Investors need a storage execution strategy for account information, as well as advice on the implications regarding the deceased estate, including access to accounts, distribution to beneficiaries, and tax implications.”
The ‘Double Funeral’ Dilemma
There have already been several examples around the world of bitcoin investors who have died without leaving their keys for their relatives. In such cases, families must deal with a kind of “double funeral,” as they mourn
