Inheriti Deep-Dive Series // 003 : Why Traditional Inheritance Plans Don’t Work for Digital Assets
Welcome to the third article in our Inheriti Deep-Dive Series.
Assuming you’ve read the previous article in this series (or perhaps watched the accompanying video), you’ve now considered all the many reasons for setting up a digital inheritance plan and you’ve come to the conclusion that your life will be better if you create one.
In later articles, we’ll tell you more about all the reasons you might choose Inheriti — Safe Haven’s flagship product that is available for use now — as your preferred digital inheritance and private key backup solution.
But first, let’s talk about all the wrong ways you might consider to pass your digital assets onto your loved ones.
Inheriti: the only truly decentralized (and totally secure) digital inheritance and private key backup solution in the world.
Looking for Solutions In All the Wrong Places
Research recently conducted by The Cremation Institute in 2020 reveals that a massive 89% of cryptocurrency investors worry about what will happen to their assets after they die.
Yet, despite this worry and real threat of losing their hard-earned crypto assets, only 23% of investors have a documented plan.
The study also revealed that even though 23% have a plan, they all use a range of insecure methods that typically involve leaving behind detailed instructions on how to access their funds for their next of kin.
These methods include leaving instructions in the household (65%), on computer (17%), on USB (15%), in safety deposit boxes (2%) or ‘other’ (1%).
Let’s examine the various flaws of each …
#1 — In the Household: Go Old School and Make Paper Copies (65%)
Many long-time crypto holders have opted for this method — making copies of your seed phrases and then hiding them in one (or more) locations around the house.
There are a few issues with this approach…
Put them in a locked safe? But what about the risk of theft?
A locked safe is the first place thieves will look.
And, unless your safe is extremely high-tech and several thousand dollars, the chances are that it can be easily broken into.
Put them is a ‘fire-proof’ safe or wallet?
Sure, you can put your seed phrases in a ‘fire-proof’ safe or wallet. Typically, anything sold as ‘fire-proof’ will only provide a minimum level of protection — up to 350°F — and even extremely high-end (and extremely expensive) models will only endure outside temperatures of up to 1400°F for a short period (30 minutes or less).
Did you know that a standard house fire can easily reach temperatures of up to 1500°F and will burn for many hours?
Your seed phrases / private keys would literally disappear in a puff of smoke.
What about flash floods?
Climate change and global warming has already dramatically increased the frequency of climatic related catastrophes around the globe — including sudden increases in rainfall, increased risk of rivers breaking their banks and unprecedented flash floods. Rising sea levels will only make things worse.
So, wherever you’ve hidden your seed phrases, you may not always have the time or be on hand to retrieve your seed phrases from your ‘safe’ location in the event of a flash flood and you might, therefore, want to think about using a different approach.
You have to tell someone …
Wherever you hide your seed phrases and instructions, you would need to tell someone the location — whether it’s your partner, family member or a friend of the family — for them to be able to retrieve your assets after you’re gone.
And, we hate to be that person, but how do you really know you can totally trust that individual?
Prisons are full of people who you would not have previously believed would commit a crime — that is, until they did. And what about the chances of separation, divorce or something worse?
So, why take the chance?
#2 — Store Your Private Data on a Phone, Computer or USB (32%)
Another common method of storing your seed phrases might be to take photos or store them in a document on your hard drive.
We’re sure we don’t need to tell you that this is asking for trouble. The risk of hackers being able to gain access to this information is extremely high.
Store them in the cloud?
Really?
There are countless examples of data being stolen from cloud-based platforms and then either used to gain access to your funds or sold on the dark web.
Use an air-gapped phone or laptop?
That may reduce the risk of being hacked, but how do you ensure that someone can’t gain access to your crypto BEFORE your passing?
Did you know that Inheriti has fail-safe mechanisms that protect against the premature release of your private data?
What about theft? Technology failure? Fire? Flood?
Phones, computers, laptops and USB keys are all common items that thieves look to steal.
What about the risk of that Phone or Laptop not working after being shut in a drawer for a few years?
Maybe one of your young children will find your device and used it as a hammer or drum stick while they are playing?
And of course, fire or floods are still a big risk.
By using Inheriti, you can guard against all these things by leveraging the option to create backup shares of your private data on the blockchain.
#3 — Safety Deposit Box Or Other Custodial Method (2%)
Many banks offer a range of custodial services — including safety deposit boxes — that are designed to hold their clients’ valuable assets ‘for safekeeping’ in order to minimize the risk of theft or loss.
But who really owns the assets in this instance and how safe are they in practice?
You think your box is totally safe?
Not only will custodians charge a hefty monthly or quarterly fee for the privilege of having complete control over your assets, but they also have the right to take possession of your assets in a wide range of circumstances (and in accordance with whatever political regime and local laws are in place at the time).
Safety deposit boxes are also not without their security flaws.
A recent 2019 article by the New York Times— entitled ‘Safety Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe’ — found that each year, hundreds of people report valuable items as missing or stolen from their bank’s safe deposit boxes. Despite what a bank might tell you, safety deposit boxes are only as safe as the people that help manage and secure them.
Not only are they susceptible to theft, they’re also not fire-proof or waterproof.
One of the biggest concerns with using safety deposit boxes, however, is that they are not as strictly regulated as other areas of banking, leaving owners financially vulnerable if their box’s contents mysteriously go missing.
Finally, banking custodians will typcially require in-depth information about the box holder, resulting in a loss of client privacy. This reason alone is why many people (especially those living in volatile or dictatorial political regimes) flocked to crypto in the first place.
Quite simply, citizens around the world are becoming distrustful of centralized solutions such as this.
#4 — Other : Use A Commercially Available Centralized Digital Inheritance Platform (1%)
There are already several commercially available digital inheritance and private key backup solutions on the market today. Whilst they will all claim to guarantee the safety and security of your private data, they all store your data on their servers and back-end repositories. Even worse, on titanium tablets or similar devices without any form of encryption.
This makes them extremely susceptible to hacking or theft.
That is, they are all centralized to some degree.
Not only should you want to ensure that your secret data does not reside on any back-end systems, you also want to ensure that strict protocols are in place to stop your private data from being released until you truly desire.
Inheriti — All the Security and Protection You Need
As you’ve seen … there are a wide range of traditional inheritance solutions available, but they all have significant flaws.
Inheriti is different.
Very different.
In fact, we haven’t come across a single digital inheritance or private key backup solution available on the market that has anywhere near the level of security and protection that Inheriti provides.
We’re incredibly proud to say that Inheriti is the only truly decentralized (and totally secure) digital inheritance and private key backup solution available in the world.
Quite honestly, there is nothing like it.
Check out our next article in this series — ‘Inheriti Deep-Dive Series // 004 : Everything You Didn’t Realize You Needed from A Digital Inheritance Platform’ — coming very soon!
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