New data shows the majority of self-custodied crypto investors have no adequate plan in place when they die, amounting to billions in irrecoverable assets
July 2026 – CoinCover, the world’s leading digital wallet disaster recovery firm, today releases new research revealing a potential $5.4 billion crypto ‘black hole’ – digital wealth that stands to be lost forever, simply because self-custodied investors have no means through which to pass on their assets or have them inherited by a next of kin when they pass away.
The $5.4 billion figure is based on Censuswide research which found that almost a quarter of a million UK adults aged 35 –50 who have self-custodied crypto investments have it stored in a way that cannot be passed on in a will. This is because it is held in a hardware or software wallet, and their will or trust does not explicitly mention it or provide an executor of their estate with the means of access to their digital assets. With average crypto investments of $22,000 among this group, the total value at risk reaches a potential $5.4 billion.
Unlike a bank account, there is no mechanism built into cryptocurrency or self-custodied wallets that allows an executor to access your assets if you die. This is not just a standard wallet recovery issue: in an inheritance scenario, the person trying to access the assets changes. Without a secure way for an executor to locate and verify the right wallet device, seed phrase, PIN and instructions, crypto can become inaccessible forever. And the research shows that many investors – and the people they leave behind – are unprepared for this reality.
On average, investors surveyed estimate that 38% of their holdings would become inaccessible if they died unexpectedly. Nearly a third (32%) say at least half of their entire portfolio is at risk. This shows that awareness of the risk is high, especially as more than half (57%) of respondents said they personally know of a case where someone died, and their family could not access the crypto they inherited. Nearly three quarters (72%) have also experienced or witnessed a crypto access “close call”, such as a lost seed phrase, device failure or forgotten password.
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Despite this, action remains limited. Over half (52%) of those surveyed have made no provision for their crypto in their estate planning. Even when investors believe they’ve made provision, they underestimate how difficult it is to execute. Nearly three quarters (72%) have not recently tested their arrangements and just assume they will work, and less than half (49%) say that their next of kin could locate everything they need to access their self-custodied crypto without help.
Full-scale adoption of crypto depends in part on this issue being addressed. This involves giving investors a secure way to protect access during their lifetime, while ensuring that authorised recovery can take place efficiently if something happens to them.
Jeremy Verba, CEO of CoinCover, comments:
“The $5.4 billion figure is a wake-up call. The sheer volume of crypto lost every year is entirely unnecessary and, unlike theft or scams, loss due to lost wallet access is largely preventable. When a seed phrase is lost, it is lost forever. There is no bank to call, no password reset, and no technical means, legal or otherwise, to reconstruct a lost private key.
“Recovery of digital assets is becoming more mainstream, and that is a good thing. In the long term, crypto recovery should feel as simple as hitting a ‘forgot password’ button.
“The inheritance challenge is different because the person trying to access the assets changes. It is no longer the investor recovering their own wallet; it is an executor of their estate trying to locate and access assets they may be legally entitled to, often without knowing where to start. That is why the $5.4 billion figure matters. As crypto starts forming a material component of individuals’ estate, the market risks losing billions of dollars’ worth of crypto that can never be recovered.
“We are already seeing the human cost of this. Over half of investors personally know someone whose family couldn’t access their crypto after they died — and still, most have no plan in place. This is a problem the industry can no longer afford to leave unaddressed.”
END
Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2000 self-custody crypto investors in the UK who have $10,000 plus in crypto, aged 35-50. The data was collected between 20.05.2026 – 27.05.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.
Disclaimer: This is a press release. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. DeFi Planet does not endorse or recommend any specific investment decisions and reminds readers to conduct their own research and due diligence before taking any financial actions. DeFi Planet is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.
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