What happens to my Bitcoin when I die?
Quick Answer
Bitcoin has no account-recovery department. If your heirs don't have access to your seed phrase or exchange accounts, the coins are lost forever — an estimated millions of BTC are already stranded this way.
TL;DR
No inheritance plan = coins lost forever. The plan: heirs must be able to find AND use your keys.
Key Takeaways
- 1Self-custodied coins die with their keys unless heirs can access them
- 2Exchange accounts pass through normal probate with death certificates
- 3The plan needs two parts: access to keys, and instructions to use them
- 4Never put a seed phrase itself in a will — wills become public documents
Full Explanation
The same property that protects your Bitcoin in life — only the keyholder can move it — works against your heirs at death. There is no customer service to petition. Exchange balances are the easier half: platforms have estate processes, and executors with death certificates and probate documents can typically claim funds, slowly. Self-custody is where coins get stranded permanently.
A workable inheritance plan answers two questions: can your heirs physically find the keys, and will they know what to do with them? The common pattern: seed phrase stored in a safe or bank deposit box; a sealed letter for your executor explaining what exists and naming a technically competent person to help; and a will that references the assets' existence without containing the seed — wills enter public record during probate.
Beyond paper, the spectrum runs from multisig arrangements (heirs and a lawyer each hold a key, no single party can move funds early) to collaborative-custody inheritance services to simply teaching a spouse the hardware-wallet recovery drill. Match the complexity to your holdings — but have something written down today, because the default outcome is zero.