CZ Urges Crypto Platforms to Add Will Features for Asset Safety

More crypto investors are asking tough questions about what happens to their digital assets when they are no longer around. As global crypto holdings continue to rise, calls for estate planning tools in digital asset platforms have grown louder—especially after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, revisited the issue.

Good to know

• CZ says every crypto platform should offer a “will function” to protect user assets.
• Binance has already added inheritance and emergency contact features in its latest update.
• CZ also urged regulators to let minors receive crypto, even if they cannot trade.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, CZ highlighted a problem many in the industry tend to overlook. He stated that platforms need to introduce built-in tools that let users assign beneficiaries and distribute assets in case of death. In his words, “Every platform should have a ‘will function’—so that when someone is no longer around, their assets can be distributed to designated accounts according to specified proportions.”

CZ made the remarks after a user praised Binance’s recent June 12 update, which improved emergency contact and inheritance settings. The user said he had mentioned this back in April and was glad to see action being taken, especially since more than $1 billion in crypto assets go unclaimed annually due to unexpected deaths.

Zhao followed up by saying, “It’s a feature everyone (who have assets on a platform) will need once.” He added that no one looks forward to using it but being prepared is part of being responsible.

He also pointed out the challenge of managing this kind of legacy setup in self-custody wallets, where users fully control their own keys. “Self-custody requires quite a bit more setup to get this right,” he explained.

In another post, CZ brought attention to regulatory issues, saying minors should be allowed to hold crypto accounts, even if those accounts are limited to receiving funds. This, he believes, would help with smoother transitions in case funds need to be passed on to younger family members.