Post
Topic
Board Altcoin Discussion
Re: How to protect your crypto before death?
by
Abiky
on 22/10/2019, 17:25:33 UTC
I guess a piece of paper where everything is listed down detail by detail is enough. That would include wallets, private keys, passwords, pins, seeds, sites, and detailed instructions as to what steps to do to recover all of them or convert them into fiat. This would be easier if someone in the family is also familiar with Bitcoin or crypto. If not, the instructions should be as spoon-fed as possible to make sure not a single satoshi is wasted. Perhaps a detailed will is also good, which clearly assigns how much is for whom.

That would be simple enough for other family members to get ahold of your crypto balances. While a paper with written instructions might be all you need to secure your crypto against death, it's still prone to wear and tear over time. Something solid and durable like a metal wallet (perhaps CryptoSteel?) might do the trick as it could withstand even the most harsh conditions in the environment. All of this could be easily stored in your own "safe box" or a "safe deposit box" from a bank. With clear and precise instructions on how to recover one's crypto balances, there should be nothing to worry about.


Set up an nlocktime transaction.

Essentially, it's a dead man's switch. A transaction that can only be executed at a future date, and if you're not dead by that date, simply send the funds to another address that only you have access to.

I'm not sure if this is something that is available with every single blockchain though. For alts, you'd probably have to go with a custodial service, or simply trust your will recipients with a private key (hide it somewhere perhaps).

Interesting. I've never thought this would be largely possible with crypto transactions. The real deal would be on how to properly make use of the "nlocktime" feature to release funds by a certain date. For non-tech savvy users, this may seem like a headache. But it's a piece of cake for experienced crypto users. I wonder if this would also be possible in Ethereum via the use of smart contracts?

Anyways, I think that I'd go for a multi-sig account since it's much easier to set up. I'd just create keypairs for each of my family members so that only 2 out of 5 keys would unlock it. For added security, I could increase the number of keys required for accessing my crypto funds. But I'd like to make the process easy for even the non-tech savvy members of my family. As long as a plan is established to protect one's crypto funds against any undesired situation, you could rest assured that your hard-earned money will survive for a long time. Wink