A client contacted us after her father passed away. The father had been an early Bitcoin adopter and, according to the family, held approximately 40 BTC (worth roughly $2.8 million at the time of his death). But there was a problem: the father had not told anyone where he stored his Bitcoin. No seed phrase in the will. No hardware wallet found among his belongings. No exchange account statements in his files. The Bitcoin existed on the blockchain — the family could see the wallet address — but without the private keys, the funds were inaccessible. Forty Bitcoin, locked forever, unless we could find the keys or find another way to access the funds.

Cryptocurrency inheritance is one of the most underdisccovered areas of digital asset law. Millions of dollars in crypto are lost every year when holders die without leaving instructions. According to a study by Chainalysis, approximately 4 million Bitcoin (worth over $200 billion at current prices) is permanently lost — much of it due to holders dying without passing on their private keys. For the heirs of crypto holders, the challenge is not just legal — it is also technical and investigative.

In this article, I explain the two main scenarios in crypto inheritance — exchange-held assets and self-custody assets — and the legal and forensic methods for recovering inherited cryptocurrency. I also cover estate planning for crypto holders, because the best recovery is the one you do not need to make.

Scenario 1: cryptocurrency held on an exchange

When a crypto holder dies, any cryptocurrency held on an exchange (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc.) is treated similarly to a traditional bank account. The exchange freezes the account upon notification of the death, and the funds are held until the legal heir or estate executor claims them. The process for claiming exchange-held crypto is:

Step 1: Obtain probate or equivalent legal authority

The heir or estate executor must obtain a grant of probate (in common law jurisdictions) or an equivalent certificate of inheritance (in civil law jurisdictions like Switzerland). This document proves that the person claiming the crypto is legally entitled to the deceased's assets. Without probate, the exchange will not release the funds.

In Switzerland, the inheritance certificate (Erbschein) is issued by the competent cantonal authority. In the UK, the grant of probate is issued by the Probate Registry. In the US, letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued by the probate court. The document must be translated and apostilled if it is being used in a different jurisdiction than where it was issued.

Step 2: Notify the exchange

Once probate is obtained, the executor contacts the exchange's compliance or legal department. The exchange will require:

The exchange will review the documents and, if everything is in order, transfer the cryptocurrency to the executor's or heir's account. This process typically takes 2-6 weeks, depending on the exchange. Some exchanges are faster (Coinbase typically processes inheritance claims within 2-3 weeks), while others are slower (smaller exchanges or those in less regulated jurisdictions can take 6-8 weeks).

Step 3: Handle tax implications

Inherited cryptocurrency may be subject to inheritance tax, depending on the jurisdiction. In Switzerland, inheritance tax varies by canton (some cantons exempt direct descendants, others levy a small percentage). In the UK, inheritance tax applies if the estate exceeds the threshold (currently £325,000, with exemptions for spouses). In the US, the federal estate tax exemption is high ($13.61 million in 2024), but state estate taxes may apply at lower thresholds.

The valuation of the inherited crypto is based on the market value at the date of death, not the original purchase price. This is important because it establishes the cost basis for the heir — when the heir eventually sells the crypto, capital gains tax is calculated based on the date-of-death value, not the deceased's original purchase price.

Scenario 2: cryptocurrency in self-custody

When cryptocurrency is held in a self-custody wallet (a hardware wallet, a software wallet, or a paper wallet), the situation is fundamentally different. The cryptocurrency exists on the blockchain, but it can only be accessed with the private key (or the seed phrase, which generates the private key). Without the seed phrase, the crypto is permanently inaccessible. No court order, no legal process, and no technical method can access funds in a self-custody wallet without the private key.

This means that recovering self-custody crypto after the holder's death depends entirely on finding the seed phrase. If the holder left the seed phrase in a known location (a safe, a safety deposit box, a sealed envelope with their attorney), the recovery is straightforward: the executor finds the seed phrase, imports it into a wallet, and transfers the funds to an account in the estate's name.

But if the holder did not leave the seed phrase, the situation is more complex. The recovery options are:

Device forensics

If the holder's phone, computer, or tablet is available, a digital forensics expert may be able to recover the seed phrase or private keys from the device. This involves:

In the case I mentioned at the beginning of this article, we ultimately found the father's seed phrase through device forensics. The father had stored the seed phrase in a password-protected note on his Mac. The note was encrypted with a password that we cracked using a combination of the father's commonly used passwords (which the family provided) and a brute-force attack on the remaining characters. The seed phrase was recovered, and the family accessed the 40 BTC.

Hardware wallet recovery

If the holder used a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor, etc.) but the hardware wallet is lost or damaged, the seed phrase can still be used to recover the funds — if it can be found. The hardware wallet itself is just a convenient interface for managing the private keys. The keys are generated from the seed phrase, which can be entered into any compatible wallet software.

If the hardware wallet is found but the PIN is forgotten, some hardware wallets allow PIN reset with the recovery phrase. Others (like Ledger) do not — if the PIN is entered incorrectly three times, the device wipes itself, and the only way to recover the funds is with the seed phrase.

Exchange deposit address tracing

If the holder's seed phrase cannot be found through device forensics, the next step is to identify whether the holder ever used an exchange. If we can find the holder's known wallet address (from transaction records, emails, or blockchain forensics), we can trace the address on the blockchain. If the address shows transactions to or from a known exchange, we can file a legal request with the exchange to identify the account holder.

If the exchange confirms that the deceased held an account, the exchange-held funds can be recovered through the probate process (as described above). However, any funds in self-custody wallets that the holder controlled will remain inaccessible unless the seed phrase is found.

The legal framework for crypto inheritance

The legal framework for inheriting cryptocurrency is still developing. Most jurisdictions do not have specific laws addressing crypto inheritance, which means the general rules of inheritance and estate law apply. The key principles are:

Estate planning for crypto holders

The best solution to the crypto inheritance problem is prevention. If you hold cryptocurrency, you should have an estate plan that addresses your digital assets. At a minimum, this should include:

What to do if you are an heir

If you are the heir of a crypto holder who has died, here is what you should do:

The cost of crypto inheritance recovery

The cost of recovering inherited cryptocurrency varies widely. If the funds are on an exchange and the probate process is straightforward, the cost is minimal — just the probate filing fees and the time to submit documents to the exchange. If the funds are in self-custody and the seed phrase needs to be recovered through device forensics, the cost can range from $5,000 to $25,000, depending on the complexity of the forensic work. If the seed phrase cannot be found, the funds are permanently lost — no amount of money can recover Bitcoin from a wallet without the private key.

This is why estate planning is so important. The cost of setting up a proper crypto estate plan (storing the seed phrase, writing instructions, updating the plan regularly) is a fraction of the cost of forensic recovery — and in many cases, forensic recovery is not possible at all.

Case study: the cross-border inheritance

In a recent case, a German-Swiss dual citizen died suddenly. He held approximately $1.2 million in cryptocurrency across multiple platforms: 8 BTC on Coinbase (verified via email records), 15 ETH on a Ledger hardware wallet (the device was found in his desk), and an unknown amount of altcoins on a decentralized exchange accessed via a browser wallet (MetaMask). The deceased lived in Switzerland but held his Coinbase account through the German entity, and the hardware wallet was purchased from a French retailer.

The family faced three separate recovery challenges. First, the Coinbase holdings: the probate was issued in Switzerland (the deceased's domicile), but Coinbase required a German inheritance certificate because the account was registered through Coinbase Germany. We coordinated with a German notary to obtain the Erbschein, which was then apostilled and submitted to Coinbase. The 8 BTC was transferred to the estate's account within 5 weeks.

Second, the Ledger hardware wallet: the device was found, but the PIN was unknown. The family tried guessing the PIN (which we advised against — Ledger wipes after three incorrect attempts). After two incorrect guesses, we intervened and took custody of the device. The seed phrase was not found in any of the deceased's papers. However, our forensic team examined the deceased's laptop and found a KeePass database protected by a master password. Using a combination of the deceased's known passwords (provided by the family), we gained access to the KeePass database, which contained the seed phrase for the Ledger wallet. The 15 ETH was recovered.

Third, the MetaMask wallet: the browser extension was still installed on the deceased's laptop, but the wallet was password-protected. The password was not in the KeePass database. However, MetaMask stores an encrypted version of the wallet data in the browser's local storage. Our forensic team extracted the encrypted vault and attempted to crack the password using a dictionary attack with the deceased's commonly used passwords. After 72 hours of computation, the password was found. The wallet contained $340,000 in various altcoins, which were recovered and added to the estate.

Total recovery: approximately $1.2 million. Total time: 8 weeks. Total cost: $18,000 in forensic and legal fees. The case illustrates that recovery is possible even in complex cases — but it requires specialized expertise and significant time investment.

Crypto inheritance services and solutions

A growing industry has emerged around crypto inheritance. Several services now offer solutions for passing crypto to heirs:

Each solution has tradeoffs between security, convenience, and legal robustness. The right choice depends on the amount of crypto held, the holder's technical expertise, and the complexity of the estate. For holders with significant crypto assets (over $500,000), a combination of multisig inheritance and a legal trust is typically the best approach.

Cross-border inheritance challenges

Crypto inheritance becomes more complex when the deceased held assets across multiple jurisdictions. A Swiss resident may have a Coinbase account through the US entity, a Binance account through the European entity, and self-custody wallets accessible from anywhere. The probate process may differ across these jurisdictions:

The bottom line

Cryptocurrency inheritance is a growing challenge as more crypto holders age and pass away. Exchange-held crypto can be recovered through the standard probate process. Self-custody crypto can only be recovered if the seed phrase is found — through device forensics, if necessary. The best solution is prevention: crypto holders should have an estate plan that addresses their digital assets and ensures their heirs can access them.

If you are dealing with inherited cryptocurrency — whether as an executor, an heir, or a crypto holder planning for the future — contact us. We help families recover inherited crypto and advise crypto holders on estate planning.

N. Silinevics
Nils Silinevics Crypto Compliance Counsel · Former FIU Investigator · Valken Legal AG