In this guide
After a death
Where was the crypto held?
Where the crypto was held decides what happens after a death: exchange (a platform holds the keys), self-custody (you hold the keys yourself), DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, business or cross-border.
One question decides almost everything after a death: where was the crypto held? Not what it is worth, where it lives. This page is the routing table: each holding type, what happens after a death, and the guide that covers it in depth. It is the sibling of what did you find?, which handles the other half: you found a physical something.
The routing table
Find the row that matches how the crypto was held. Each row shows what happens after a death and your first step.
| Where or how it was held | What happens after a death | Your first step |
|---|---|---|
| On an exchange | The platform holds the keys; the estate follows the official procedure for customers who have passed away, with documents | Exchange accounts after a death |
| In a self-custody wallet (seed phrase, private key) | The keys are the asset; the estate needs key material plus legal authority to act | Exchange account or self-custody? |
| In a hardware wallet (device) | Device + PIN + seed phrase are all needed; the device must be preserved untouched | How to preserve a hardware wallet |
| In a software wallet or wallet app | Wallet files and passwords matter; old devices often still hold them | Old devices with a possible wallet |
| In DeFi positions (staking, lending, liquidity pools) | Positions keep running after death: lock-ups, unbonding periods and liquidations continue | DeFi positions after a death |
| In NFTs | Distinct assets with their own marketplaces and wallets; collection access is the question | NFTs in an estate |
| In a smart-contract wallet (Safe, account abstraction) | The contract has no seed phrase; recovery and owner rules differ | Smart-contract wallets |
| In a business estate (company or firm) | The crypto belongs to the entity; corporate formalities apply on top of succession | Crypto in a business estate |
| Held across borders (more than one country) | More than one country is involved: which law applies, where the platform is, where the heir lives | Cross-border crypto estates |
| Held by someone else (custodian, adviser, family member) | The estate must establish what was held and request it through the custodian’s process | Getting help |
| Unknown | The search comes first: follow the structured search workbook before choosing a route | How to find crypto after a death |
Why the routing matters
- Exchange-held crypto needs documents, not technical skills. The platform decides the process; trying to log in without authority can freeze the claim.
- Self-custody crypto needs key material, not documents. No platform can help; the estate must assemble device, PIN, seed phrase, passphrase and software version.
- DeFi and NFT positions do not pause. Lock-ups and liquidations continue while the estate works, so records and keys matter early.
- Business and cross-border holdings add a layer. The entity’s own rules and multiple jurisdictions come on top of the normal estate process.
See exchange account or self-custody? for the first branch, and what happens to crypto after a death for the overall process.
If you found a physical item
The routing table assumes you know where the crypto was held. If instead you are holding an object (a device, paper words, a USB stick, a QR code) the question changes to what did you find? Identify it first, before any route. See what did you find? and the wallet format library.
What this page is not
This page contains no advice about what to buy, sell or hold. It is a map: knowing where an asset lived tells you which official process applies, and the linked guides contain the details.