Nearly 90% of cryptocurrency investors worry about what will happen to their assets after they die, but few plan appropriately.
Younger investors are particularly culpable, barely thinking beyond
their own lives.
According to a new study by the Cremation Institute, only about one quarter of bitcoin (BTC) investors have a documented plan of how their crypto funds will be distributed once they die.
Younger
generations — those between the ages of 18 and 40 years — are 10 times
more likely not to have a plan in comparison to older generations, the
study found.
Only 65% of millennials and 41% of Generation Z
reported having some sort of plan on how their crypto wealth will be
passed on to their loved ones once they die, it said.
That
compares with 86% of Generation X (41 to 55 years) and 94% of baby
boomers (56 to 76 years) who said they have a plan to ensure that their
crypto assets are inherited properly.
“While complacency is a
large factor, the combined issues of lacking crypto estate services and
government regulation are important reasons for overall planning
disorganization,” said the Cremation Institute in the study, published
July 7.
There have already been several examples around the world
of bitcoin investors who have died without leaving their keys for their
relatives. In such cases, families must deal with a kind of “double
funeral,” as they mourn the loss of their loved ones while coming to
terms with the loss of an irretrievable fortune that might have been
theirs.
This underscores how bitcoin’s main attraction — its safe
remove from regulators and impenetrable privacy from regulation — can
also become its fatal weakness. Users may enjoy immunity from high bank
fees and taxes, but they miss out on the good side of the old system,
such as help with the administration of their estate.
According to
Coincover, it is estimated that around 4 million bitcoin (about $37
billion) has been lost forever due to death. In one of the most widely publicized
examples, paranoid U.S. investor Matthew Mellon died in 2018, leaving
few clues to a crypto fortune reportedly valued at more than $500
million at the time.
In its study, the Cremation Institute
surveyed a total of 1,150 people between October 2019 and June 2020. The
research aimed to “understand the metrics behind crypto investors who
had a plan for what happens to their investment after they pass away, in
addition to those who don’t.”
It also aimed to establish the
“proportion of investors who plan, along with how they planned, and
whether they were concerned about losing their assets.” The findings
show that 65% of crypto investors store their assets in their households
for their spouses to access. Other popular areas include a computer
(17%) and USB (15%).
Results
also showed that women are significantly more likely than men to have
some sort of cryptocurrency contingency plan if they were to pass away.
This was significant across all age groups except baby boomers, where
males actually planned more than females, said the study.
The
Cremation Institute is a group of experts, contributors, and researchers
“who create end-of-life resources for individuals and families to
encourage thoughtful planning and to ensure security at all stages of
life.”
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/90-bitcoin-investors-worried-fate-of-their-assets-after-death/
