When someone dies, their bank accounts don't vanish. The family brings a death certificate, probate is opened, and within months the bank pays out to the heirs. The system isn't perfect, but it exists.
For crypto in a self-custody wallet there is no such system. There's no bank to bring documents to and no support team to "reset the password". There's only a seed phrase — 12 or 24 words. Whoever knows them owns the funds. If nobody knows them, the coins stay on the blockchain forever: visible to everyone, available to no one.
How much crypto is already lost
There are no exact figures, but the estimates are striking. A 2020 study by the analytics firm Chainalysis suggested that around 20% of all mined bitcoins may be lost for good: lost keys, discarded hard drives, and owners who passed away without passing on access.
The best-known case is the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX. In December 2018 its founder Gerald Cotten died suddenly, and it turned out only he had access to the exchange's cold wallets. Customers lost around 190 million Canadian dollars. If this can happen to an exchange, the risk for a personal wallet is even higher.
Why crypto isn't inherited "automatically"
- An exchange — maybe; a wallet — no. Funds on a centralised exchange can often be claimed through a probate procedure. Funds in a personal wallet (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Ledger, Trezor) are controlled by no one except the holder of the keys.
- Your lawyer doesn't know about your wallet. Even if your will mentions crypto, without the seed phrase your heirs can't do anything.
- Regulation is still catching up. In many countries the legal status of virtual assets is not fully settled, so even the legal side can be difficult.
- "Just writing it on paper" is a risk too. The note may never be found, may be thrown away — or may be found by the wrong person.
Common mistakes that make crypto disappear
- The seed phrase exists only in the owner's head.
- The seed phrase is in a safe, but nobody in the family knows what it is or what to do with it.
- The seed phrase was sent to a relative in plain text in a messenger — and has lived in that chat for years.
- There are several wallets and exchanges, but no list of what is where.
How to pass on access properly
The goal is simple: while you're alive, only you have access. When you're gone, the right person gets exactly the information they need to recover the funds.
- Make an asset map. Which exchanges, which wallets, which networks, rough amounts. No seed phrases — just the list.
- Decide who gets what. Different people may inherit different wallets.
- You don't have to pass on the seed phrase itself. You can leave instructions: where the metal backup is kept, the PIN of the hardware wallet, how to use it. Experienced holders split the phrase between several people.
- Write step-by-step instructions for someone who doesn't know crypto. What to install, where to enter what, and how to avoid scammers.
- Plan the moment of handover. The instructions must reach your loved ones exactly when you're gone — and not before.
How mementomori.digital solves it
We built the service for that fifth step — the hardest one.
- You write a separate message for each recipient: the asset map, instructions, or part of a seed phrase. The text is encrypted in your browser (AES-256) before it's sent, so our server only ever stores ciphertext.
- While your monthly payment goes through, we assume you're fine and do nothing.
- If the payment stops, we email you on days 3, 7 and 25. If you've added a trusted person, we ask them too and, if needed, call.
- Only if nobody responds for 30 days, and after a manual review, does each recipient get a personal secure link to their message.
Our advice: store not the seed phrase itself, but instructions on where it is and how to use it. That way, even in the worst case, no outsider gets access to the funds.
In short
Crypto is the most honest money in the world: it belongs to whoever holds the key. That's exactly why it disappears so easily. A few minutes today decide whether your family receives what you saved for them.