Crypto Millionaires Hit Estate Planning Wall Over Lack of Documentation

Crypto millionaires are facing difficulties in using traditional estate structures to manage their wealth due to the inability of offshore trust companies to verify how the money was made.

The issue centers around the lack of documentation and transparency surrounding cryptocurrency transactions, making it challenging for trustees to satisfy source-of-wealth requirements.

According to HMRC data published on August 27, 240 UK taxpayers declared capital gains exceeding £1 million each from crypto in the 2024-25 tax year, accounting for roughly 52% of the £1.38 billion reported by all 17,600 UK taxpayers who filed crypto capital gains that year.

HMRC is implementing the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) from January 2026, which will require service-provider data to be submitted from 2027, but until then, the structural bind leaves crypto millionaires with liquid, taxable wealth and a growing need for succession planning without access to traditional estate structures.

The reluctance of trustees to accept cryptocurrency wealth is not about the size of fortunes but rather the difficulty in verifying legitimate ownership and earnings. As James Murray MP stated, 'taxes are due on cryptoasset gains just like any other gains.'