Exchange accounts after a death

When cryptocurrency was held on an exchange, the estate usually does not need technical recovery, it needs the exchange’s official procedure for customers who have passed away. Exchanges have a defined process because they hold the assets and must protect them. There is a party that determines the procedure: the platform itself, usually through a customer-support process for relatives.

Exchange versus self-custody

On an exchange, the company holds the private keys on the customer’s behalf; the customer holds an account with login details. After a death, there is a central party that decides the procedure. With self-custody there is none. That difference determines your first steps, see exchange account or self-custody?.

How the process typically works

1. Identify which exchange(s). Look for account emails, statements, bank-transfer records to the exchange, or the exchange app on a device.
2. Contact the exchange’s official support using only the address on its website (typed, not clicked from a message).
3. Provide the required documentation. This commonly includes a death certificate, proof of the lawful personal representative’s authority (probate, letters of administration or the local equivalent), and identification. Requirements differ per exchange and jurisdiction.
4. Follow their timeline. Exchanges are cautious by design; the process takes time and is normal.
5. Distribution happens according to the estate’s decisions, not the exchange’s preferences.

What you can gather without logging in

Without logging in, much can already be collected:

• emails from the platform confirming an account existed;
• bank statements showing transfers to the platform;
• notes or documents with account details;
• app or extension entries on devices.

This evidence helps start the procedure and demonstrate that the account exists.

What heirs should know

• No pre-death beneficiary designation exists on most exchanges. Inheritance is handled through the estate process, not a “transfer on death” setting.
• Do not log into the account without lawful authority, it can freeze the process, and unauthorised access can have legal consequences.
• Never bypass verification or KYC controls, and never give anyone your login, funds password or withdrawal codes, including people claiming to “help” with the claim.
• The exchange never asks for your password or asks you to move funds to a “safe” wallet. That request is a warning sign.
• Not every message mentioning “your account” means crypto exists, that expectation is exactly what such messages rely on. Check senders and never use links from unexpected messages.

By exchange

Each platform runs its own official procedure. The specifics (documents, forms, timelines) are covered per exchange:

• Coinbase account after a death
• Kraken account after a death
• Binance account after a death

The same principle applies on every other platform: the estate follows that platform’s own official procedure, with documents and authority. This website covers the three above in depth; for any other exchange, find its official support page and its published process for account holders who have passed away.

What if the platform no longer exists?

Exchanges sometimes close down, enter insolvency or are taken over. The account records you found are still evidence, they show what may have existed and where. What happens next depends on the platform’s official status:

• Acquired or continued by another company: the successor’s official process applies; contact them with the same documents.
• In insolvency or liquidation: customer claims run through the official administrator or liquidator appointed in the proceeding, not through anyone who contacts you offering to recover the funds.
• Completely gone: the estate still records what was found and where; if an official claims process exists, it is published by the appointed authority.

The rules do not change: establish authority first, keep the evidence, and verify every official contact on its own published domain. No official process ever starts with a payment.

Draft message to an exchange

When you are ready to contact a platform, a short written message with fields in square brackets keeps the process clear. Fill in only the bracketed fields (never include passwords, codes, recovery words or wallet files) and send it only through the exchange’s official support channel (typed by you, never a link from a message).

Dear [exchange] support,

I am writing about the account of [full name], who passed away on [date].

I am the [executor / personal representative / heir] of the estate and hold the authority document: [probate / letters of administration / certificate of inheritance / local equivalent], a copy of which is attached, together with the death certificate and my identification.

The account was associated with the email address [email address, if known].

Please confirm your official procedure for accounts of deceased customers and what you need from us. [Optional: please transfer the balance to the account [account identifier] in the name of [representative name].]

Yours faithfully, [your name]

What this page is not

This page provides no paid services. For exchange-held assets the official procedure is the procedure. If you have found a self-custody wallet instead (a device, paper words, a wallet file) that is a different route: exchange account or self-custody?.

Who to look for in your area

The exchange procedure is official and free of intermediaries. If the platform asks for legal documents (a certificate of inheritance or the equivalent) a notary or estate lawyer in your area can prepare them. No other intermediary is needed.