The Grim Reaper is cryptocurrency's biggest "HODLer"
Original Article Title: The Biggest Buyer Of Crypto Is Death
Original Article Author: @PixOnChain, Crypto KOL
Original Article Translation: Saoirse, Foresight News
Crypto enthusiasts always say, "Not your keys, not your coins." This statement sounds powerful and is indeed true. However, behind this statement lies a mirrored logic — "Only your keys can truly own your cryptocurrency."

If no one else knows how to access your wallet, then at the moment you take your last breath, your cryptocurrency is effectively "gone." Of course, this is not a literal disappearance — it still exists on the blockchain ledger. But economically, it is akin to being burnt.
So, how big is this "Death Buyer" phenomenon?
Today, most cryptocurrency holders are quite young, with the majority falling between the late twenties and early forties.

There are very few holders beyond retirement age, making the issue of "Death-Induced Cryptocurrency Loss" easily overlooked. Nevertheless, the associated data is still staggering:
· There are approximately 60 million deaths globally each year (based on a total global population of around 8 billion);
· There are around 500 million cryptocurrency holders globally (equivalent to 1 in 16 people holding cryptocurrency);
· Due to cryptocurrency holders being younger on average than the global population, their death rate is lower, with a conservative estimate of around 0.2% annually;
· Based on this calculation, approximately 1 million people (500 million × 0.2%) out of 500 million holders will pass away each year.
Currently, most cryptocurrency is still self-custodied by individuals, with very few making inheritance plans. Even if only 10% of deceased individuals' wallets cannot be accessed due to the absence of knowledge of how to access them, around 100,000 wallets become inaccessible each year. Assuming conservatively that the average balance in these inaccessible wallets is only $20,000, approximately $2 billion in cryptocurrency exits circulation yearly. Furthermore, this number will continue to grow over time — after all, the younger generation will also age.

The percentage of cryptocurrency "destroyed" annually due to death
This leaves us with a key question: Since the advantage of self-custodying cryptocurrency is the removal of intermediaries, how can we avoid reintroducing intermediaries when passing on these assets?
Inheriting Assets Not Originally Designed for Inheritance

Currently, most solutions tend to lean towards two extremes: either simple yet fragile, such as storing the mnemonic phrase in a bank safe deposit box (easy to lose, easy to steal); or secure yet too complex for anyone to actually use. Neither of these solutions is satisfactory, so I have adopted a compromise—a simple three-step inheritance method that is easy to remember, difficult to crack, accessible anytime and anywhere, and ensures 100% non-custodial (i.e., without relying on intermediaries). The specific steps are as follows:
Step 1: Set Up a Dedicated Single-Page Website
Create a single-page website using a "obscure domain name" consisting of 3-4 words—this type of domain name is not something an average person would easily type into the search bar, but it should have special meaning to you for easy memorization. Additionally, prepay hosting fees for more than 10 years in advance and set up automatic renewal to ensure the long-term accessibility of the website.
Step 2: Encrypt the Mnemonic Phrase into a Numeric String
Choose a book you like, identify the most common publisher of that book, and purchase 10 copies (ensuring each book has identical page numbers and layouts). Then, convert your cryptocurrency wallet's mnemonic phrase into a numeric string: for each word in the mnemonic phrase, locate its position in the book and record the "page number - line number - word position in that line". For example, "112, 3, 5" represents "Page 112, Line 3, 5th word." Convert all mnemonic words into numeric strings using this method.
Step 3: Upload the Numeric Strings to the Dedicated Website
Simply publish the converted numeric strings in list form on your dedicated website, following this format:

By the way, this is a numeric string corresponding to a real mnemonic phrase, linked to $500 worth of cryptocurrency. However, the website domain name is fictional, and the actual mnemonic phrase is hidden in a certain book. Just a hint: I absolutely love detective novels. Wishing you all happy "treasure hunting"~
I know this may sound a bit "over the top," and some people may think it's unnecessary, but this approach can indeed make asset inheritance more flexible while ensuring security. You can further enhance security by, for example, using a rare book or a self-printed book to store the location information corresponding to the seed phrase; of course, you can also skip the hassle and simply put a hardware wallet (Ledger) and a metal plate engraved with the seed phrase in a safe deposit box. Otherwise, your cryptocurrency may end up being "donated" to the blockchain (i.e., permanently out of circulation).

You may also like

After being questioned by Vitalik, L2s are collectively saying goodbye to the "cheap" era
WEEX AI Trading Hackathon Paris Workshop Reveals: How Retail Crypto Traders Can Outperform Hedge Funds
Witness how WEEX's Paris AI Trading Hackathon revealed AI's edge over human traders. Explore key strategies, live competition results & how to build your own AI trading bot.

U.S. Oil (USOR) Price Prediction 2026–2030
Key Takeaways U.S. Oil (USOR) is a speculative Solana-based crypto project that aims to index the United States…

USOR Surges on Meme Narrative Despite No Real-World Asset Backing
Key Takeaways: USOR, a Solana-based token, has seen a notable surge driven by speculative narratives rather than verifiable…

How to Buy U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) Cryptocurrency
Key Takeaways U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) is a Solana-based token primarily traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Claims have…

USOR vs Oil ETFs: Understanding Why the ‘Oil Reserve’ Token Doesn’t Track Crude Prices
Key Takeaways The U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) token has become noteworthy for its claims, yet it does not…

Trend Research Reduces Ether Holdings After Major Market Turbulence
Key Takeaways: Trend Research has significantly cut down its Ether holdings, moving over 404,000 ETH to exchanges recently.…

Investors Channel $258M into Crypto Startups Despite $2 Trillion Market Sell-Off
Key Takeaways: Investors pumped approximately $258 million into crypto startups in early February, highlighting continued support for blockchain-related…

NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Becomes Shareholder in Prediction Market Kalshi
Key Takeaways: Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s two-time MVP, invests in the prediction market platform Kalshi as a shareholder.…

Arizona Home Invasion Targets $66 Million in Cryptocurrency: Two Teens Charged
Key Takeaways Two teenagers from California face serious felony charges for allegedly attempting to steal $66 million in…

El Salvador’s Bukele Approval Reaches Record 91.9% Despite Limited Bitcoin Use
Key Takeaways: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele enjoys a record high approval rating of 91.9% from his populace,…

Crypto Price Prediction for February 6: XRP, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu’s Market Movements
Key Takeaways: The crypto market experienced a notable shift with Bitcoin’s significant surge, impacting altcoins like XRP, Dogecoin,…

China Restricts Unapproved Yuan-Pegged Stablecoins to Maintain Currency Stability
Key Takeaways: China’s central bank and seven government agencies have banned the issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins abroad without…

Solana Price Prediction: $80 SOL Looks Scary – But Smart Money Just Signaled This Might Be the Bottom
Key Takeaways Despite Solana’s descent to $80, some traders find security as smart money enters the fray, suggesting…

XRP Price Prediction: Major Ledger Upgrade Quietly Activated – Why This Could Be the Most Bullish Signal Yet
Key Takeaways: The activation of the Permissioned Domains amendment on XRPL represents a significant development in XRP’s potential…

Dogecoin Price Prediction: Death Cross Confirmed as DOGE Falls Below $0.10 – Is DOGE Reaching Zero?
Key Takeaways The death cross event signals potential bearish trends for Dogecoin as its price dips under $0.10,…

Stablecoin Inflows Have Doubled to $98B Amid Selling Pressure
Key Takeaways Stablecoin inflows to crypto exchanges have surged to $98 billion, doubling previous levels amidst heightened market…

Coinbase UK Executive Declares Tokenised Collateral a Mainstream Financial Force
Key Takeaways Tokenised collateral is transitioning from its initial experimental stages into becoming core infrastructure within financial markets.…
After being questioned by Vitalik, L2s are collectively saying goodbye to the "cheap" era
WEEX AI Trading Hackathon Paris Workshop Reveals: How Retail Crypto Traders Can Outperform Hedge Funds
Witness how WEEX's Paris AI Trading Hackathon revealed AI's edge over human traders. Explore key strategies, live competition results & how to build your own AI trading bot.
U.S. Oil (USOR) Price Prediction 2026–2030
Key Takeaways U.S. Oil (USOR) is a speculative Solana-based crypto project that aims to index the United States…
USOR Surges on Meme Narrative Despite No Real-World Asset Backing
Key Takeaways: USOR, a Solana-based token, has seen a notable surge driven by speculative narratives rather than verifiable…
How to Buy U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) Cryptocurrency
Key Takeaways U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) is a Solana-based token primarily traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Claims have…
USOR vs Oil ETFs: Understanding Why the ‘Oil Reserve’ Token Doesn’t Track Crude Prices
Key Takeaways The U.S. Oil Reserve (USOR) token has become noteworthy for its claims, yet it does not…