Uphold Rolls Out Crypto Inheritance Service for U.S. Users

Uphold, a financial services company, has launched a new service called Vault Inheritance for its U.S. users. For $19.99 per month, customers can designate beneficiaries who will receive their Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, or Hedera (HBAR) after a compliance review.

The process involves selecting a beneficiary through the Vault dashboard and creating an Uphold account. However, the beneficiary does not gain control of the assets until the claim is approved by Uphold's compliance support team.

Uphold estimates that almost 4 million BTC, valued at around $331 billion, may be inaccessible due to owners dying or losing access to their private keys. This highlights the issue of crypto inheritance, where legal ownership does not necessarily translate to control over the assets.

Nancy Beaton, Uphold's president of consumer, noted that 'crypto has become a real part of how people build their financial future, but unlike traditional assets, there are few ways to pass it on securely, especially for XRP holders.'