Blockchain.com wallets after a death

Blockchain.com is one of the most confusing finds in an estate, because the name covers several very different things: a custodial Trading Account, a current non-custodial DeFi Wallet, and the legacy Blockchain.info / Blockchain.com wallet that made the brand famous. The correct route depends entirely on which of the three existed.

The three types

• Custodial account (Blockchain.com Exchange / trading account). The company holds the assets, like any exchange. After a death, the company’s official support procedure applies, documents, authority, transfer. See exchange accounts after a death.
• Current non-custodial DeFi Wallet. A separate Blockchain.com product with its own self-custody access; recovery goes through Blockchain.com’s official support and recovery process for this product, not through the exchange route.
• Legacy non-custodial wallet. The classic Blockchain.info / Blockchain.com wallet where the user held the keys. Note that older Blockchain.info / Blockchain.com wallets come in different generations and can have different kinds of recovery material, for example a wallet ID, a wallet password, an encrypted wallet.aes.json backup, or an older recovery mnemonic. Some older mnemonics were used for password/wallet recovery and therefore had a different function from the 12-word Recovery Phrase of later wallets. Determine first which type of wallet and which kind of recovery material you have found before trying to use or import it. For a non-custodial wallet, Blockchain.com cannot simply replace missing access material. Whether recovery is still possible depends on the wallet type and the material still available.

How to tell them apart

Emails, statements and account details from Blockchain.com show that a relationship with Blockchain.com may have existed, but on their own they do not determine whether it was a custodial Trading Account, a non-custodial Wallet, or both. Look for additional clues such as a Wallet ID, recovery phrase, wallet backup, transaction documentation and the product name in the correspondence, and confirm the account type through the current official procedure. A reference to the “DeFi Wallet” or the current Blockchain.com Wallet points to a current non-custodial Wallet. A Wallet ID, password or recovery phrase does not by itself distinguish a current from an older Blockchain.com wallet: such data can occur across several generations. Therefore use the product name, dates, correspondence, found backups and Blockchain.com’s current official procedure to determine the wallet type. If more than one existed, the routes apply separately. See exchange or self-custody for the classification.

What to preserve

• Account evidence: emails, statements, the app, usernames.
• Legacy wallet material: the wallet identifier, any written password, and especially any backup phrase, it is as sensitive as a seed phrase. See wallet passwords and passphrases.
• Devices and notes exactly as found. Never photograph any secret material, and never enter it anywhere just because a website or app looks official. First check Blockchain.com’s current official documentation for where and how recovery is supposed to take place (see official channels and source verification); for the legacy wallet, Blockchain.com’s official web environment can be part of the normal recovery process. If what you see on screen differs from the official recovery procedure, or you are unsure, do not enter anything.

What to do with it

• First classify the type: a custodial Trading Account (the company holds the keys), a current non-custodial DeFi Wallet, or a legacy wallet (you hold the backup). The route differs.
• Custodial account, when the estate is ready: follow the platform’s official procedure with documents, no technical steps needed. See exchange accounts after a death.
• Legacy backup (wallet.aes.json), when ready: For an encrypted wallet.aes.json, the main password is required. Older Blockchain.info wallets could additionally have a second password (“second password” / double encryption) set for the private-key material. Keep therefore every password found and first establish which wallet generation and encryption configuration was used. First check Blockchain.com’s current official import/recovery procedure for this file before using legacy software; the correct wallet password remains required. A found wallet.aes.json can contain important wallet data; keep the original file unchanged and make a copy first before attempting any technical recovery.
• A successful recovery-phrase restore does not automatically prove that everything came back. Imported addresses can require separate private keys or other recovery material; check what actually returned after the restore.
• Use only official sources. For the legacy wallet, import the backup only through Blockchain.com’s official site and support process, never through a third-party “import” or “recovery” website.
• The classic mistake: the wrong tool or the wrong account type shows an empty wallet. Classify before concluding anything.
• If the password is missing: read what is realistically possible in wallet recovery.

What happens next

1. Confirm what existed, custodial, non-custodial, or both.
2. For a custodial account: the official support procedure, with authority confirmed first.
3. For a legacy wallet: preserve the material and confirm authority first.

If the account’s existence is uncertain, the search method is in how to find someone’s crypto after they passed away. For the full index of formats, see the wallet format library.