Kresus launches crypto inheritance service to help bitcoin owners pass digital assets to heirs

One of crypto’s biggest risks has nothing to do with hacks or market crashes. It’s what happens when a Bitcoin owner dies without leaving a secure way for family members to access their holdings. Millions of bitcoins are already believed to be lost forever, locked in wallets whose owners took their private keys to their graves.

Kresus wants to tackle that problem with a new subscription service called Kresus Inheritance, which gives self-custody wallet users a way to pass digital assets to designated beneficiaries without handing over private keys during their lifetime.

The San Francisco-based blockchain infrastructure company announced Thursday that the service is now available inside the Kresus Wallet for $99.99 per year. The feature lets users create a succession plan for their cryptocurrency holdings by naming a beneficiary who can access the holdings only after a predefined period of account inactivity and upon verification of the succession process.

Why Crypto Estate Planning Is Becoming a Must-Have for Self-Custody Wallets

The launch targets one of the biggest gaps in self-custody. Crypto holders have long embraced the principle of controlling their own assets, yet estate planning has remained a weak point. Traditional financial accounts typically support beneficiary designations and established inheritance procedures. Self-custody wallets leave those responsibilities entirely to the owner.

That has led many investors to rely on handwritten seed phrases, shared passwords, or expensive estate planning arrangements that carry their own risks. A misplaced recovery phrase can permanently lock away assets. Sharing private keys too early can expose funds to theft or misuse.

“Too much digital wealth has already been lost because there was no plan for what happens next,” said Trevor Traina, Founder and CEO of Kresus. “Self-custody shouldn’t mean your assets disappear if something happens to you. With Kresus Inheritance, we’re giving users a secure and affordable way to protect their legacy and ensure the wealth they’ve built can be passed on to the next generation.”

How Kresus Is Bringing Estate Planning to Self-Custody Crypto Wallets

Unlike traditional recovery methods, Kresus says its inheritance system does not require users to share private keys with beneficiaries before death. Wallet owners remain in full control of their assets throughout their lifetime, and Kresus does not take custody of customer funds. Access transfers only after the user-defined inactivity period has expired, and the succession process is complete.

The announcement arrives as cryptocurrency ownership continues to grow across the United States. A Harris Poll study estimates that 55 million American adults, or roughly 21% of the population, own cryptocurrency. At the same time, research from the Cremation Institute found that 89% of crypto investors worry about what will happen to their digital assets after they die.

Kresus argues that the combination leaves millions of investors with valuable digital wealth but no practical inheritance plan.

A Bitcoin holder with a $50,000 portfolio, for example, can name a spouse or an adult child as a beneficiary. That person receives no access to the wallet during the owner’s lifetime. Access becomes available only after the succession process has been verified in accordance with the conditions established by the account holder.

The new offering builds on Kresus’ broader wallet and blockchain infrastructure business, which serves millions of self-custody wallet users through its consumer wallet, mini-app ecosystem, and enterprise products. The company views inheritance planning as part of a broader shift toward making crypto wallets play a larger role in long-term digital wealth management, rather than functioning solely as tools for storing and transferring assets.

As more wealth moves onto blockchains, estate planning is becoming a practical challenge rather than a niche concern. For self-custody users, protecting cryptocurrency now extends beyond securing private keys. It includes ensuring digital assets can reach the next generation, rather than becoming another addition to the growing pool of permanently inaccessible Bitcoin.