Crypto-Native Estate Protocols
ownership transfer protocol
Crypto-Native Estate Protocols are decentralized systems designed to manage inheritance, asset distribution, and key recovery in the event of a user’s death ÔÇö all without relying on traditional legal infrastructure. These protocols often use smart contracts, inactivity timers, multi-signature wallets, and decentralized identity verification to trigger on-chain transfers to heirs or digital executors. They aim to replace the need for wills, lawyers, or court intervention in the succession of crypto and Web3 assets.
Use Case: An individual stores their digital assets in a wallet governed by a smart contract. If the wallet remains inactive for 12 months, the protocol transfers the assets to their designated heirs using preconfigured keys, bypassing legal probate entirely.
Key Concepts:
- On-Chain Succession
- Dead-Man Switch
- Multi-Sig Inheritance Wallets
- Decentralized Executors
Summary: Crypto-Native Estate Protocols offer a sovereign and secure way to plan for digital asset inheritance, removing the need for centralized intermediaries. These systems make it possible to pass wealth and identity across generations through code, not courts.
| Feature | Crypto-Native Protocol | Traditional Estate Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Inheritance Trigger | Inactivity-based smart contract | Legal certification of death |
| Asset Control | Self-custody with programmable fallback | Controlled by executor/lawyer |
| Jurisdiction | Global, decentralized | Nation-state dependent |
| Trust Model | Trust in code and keyholders | Trust in legal systems |