If you bought just one Bitcoin early, could your family actually inherit it?

Many early Bitcoin holders are now sitting on life-changing value. But without a clear, non-custodial inheritance plan, crypto wealth can die with its owner. Here's how families avoid that.

Introduction

In recent coverage, commentators have highlighted a stark thought experiment: if you had bought just one Bitcoin at launch, you would now be sitting on a sum large enough to change your family's future entirely. What began as an experimental digital asset has quietly become a meaningful store of value for early adopters, long-term holders, and even cautious investors who entered later but held on. The uncomfortable reality is that value alone does not make crypto inheritable. Across the UK, families are discovering — often too late — that crypto wealth behaves very differently from bank accounts, pensions, or property when someone dies or becomes incapacitated.

Crypto wealth is easy to own — and easy to lose forever

Traditional assets sit inside systems designed for death. Banks freeze accounts, executors gain authority, probate processes exist. Crypto does not work this way. If the only person who understands the wallets, devices, passwords, recovery phrases, or exchanges is no longer able to act, the asset can become permanently inaccessible, regardless of how valuable it is or what the will says. This is why stories of 'lost Bitcoin' continue to surface. Not because people were reckless investors — but because access and authority were never documented in a way others could execute.

Why a will alone is not enough for crypto

Many UK holders assume that adding 'my crypto' to a will solves the problem. It does not. A will can express intent, but it does not: • Reveal where assets are held • Provide executors with access credentials • Explain device dependencies • Prevent family members from being targeted by scammers • Reduce confusion during an already stressful time Without operational clarity, executors are left guessing. Families panic. And scammers exploit that uncertainty.

The real risk is not volatility — it's operational failure

For long-term holders, especially those who bought early or accumulated quietly, market risk is often no longer the primary concern. The bigger threat is human and procedural failure: • One person holding all knowledge • No written process for incapacity or death • No verification steps for 'support' or 'recovery' requests • No clear separation between ownership, access, and authority This is where otherwise sensible families lose assets they fully intended to pass on.

How Bitzo helps families pass on crypto safely — without custody

Bitzo exists to solve this exact gap. We do not hold crypto, manage wallets, or take custody. Instead, Bitzo provides a non-custodial coordination layer that helps individuals and families document, structure, and rehearse what actually needs to happen if the holder cannot act. That includes: • Mapping where crypto is held and how it is accessed • Documenting roles for trusted contacts and executors • Creating clear, step-by-step continuity instructions • Reducing scam exposure during high-stress events • Ensuring families can act without improvising For people sitting on large or modest crypto value, the principle is the same: if your family cannot execute, the asset might as well not exist.

Why this matters now, not later

The longer crypto is held, the more likely it becomes a multi-decade asset. That increases the probability of: • Device changes • Forgotten details • Relationship changes • Illness or incapacity • Estate administration pressure Early holders in particular are often the least prepared, because crypto was never meant to become this valuable.

The question worth asking today

If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family: • Know what exists? • Know who to speak to? • Know what not to do? • Be able to act without risking loss or fraud? If the answer is 'I'm not sure', the problem is not the asset. It's the absence of a process. Crypto can change a family's future — but only if it can be passed on. Bitzo helps ensure that it is. Related reading: Inheritance, Security, and How It Works.