What happens to crypto after a death?

Cryptocurrency does not disappear when its owner passes away, but nobody can “look it up” like a bank account. There is no registry, no central institution and no statement in the mail. What happens next depends on five questions, answered in order, each one has a guide, and skipping the order is where estates go wrong.

The five steps

1. Did crypto exist? The estate is searched lawfully, devices, paperwork, financial records, correspondence. (See how to find out whether someone owned crypto.)
2. Who may act? The lawful personal representative is determined under the local rules of the jurisdiction. Possession of a device is not authority. (See legal authority vs technical access.)
3. Where was it held? The single decisive question: an exchange account follows the exchange’s official procedure; self-custody crypto depends on the keys and files that were left behind. (See exchange account or self-custody?.)
4. What is it worth? Valuation is done carefully and honestly; rules and rates differ by country. (See valuation, tax and reporting.)
5. How is it distributed? The estate is divided according to the will and the local law. (See dividing crypto between heirs.)

The two forces in every step

Every one of these steps is shaped by the same two forces: legal authority (who may act, established through probate, a certificate of inheritance or the local equivalent) and technical access (which devices, phrases, passwords and files actually exist). Neither creates the other. A court order does not produce a seed phrase; a seed phrase does not make anyone an heir.

What stays the same everywhere

• Preserve before you act. Resets, updates and repeated password attempts can destroy the only access path.
• Never share secret material. Seed phrases, private keys and passwords go nowhere, not to “help”, not to “verification”.
• Nobody can guarantee recovery. Anyone who does is a warning sign.
• Preserve the evidence. Note who found what and when; later disputes are decided on records.

What differs by country

Ownership, probate, executor authority, inheritance and taxation are questions of local law. This website’s legal and tax pages are written for their own jurisdiction, are dated, and say so when certainty is not possible. If you are unsure which country’s rules apply, ask a qualified local professional early rather than guessing.

Where to start

If the death happened recently and nothing has been touched yet, begin with the first steps. If something has already been found, go to what did I find?.