Economy
How to Tackle the Challenges of Crypto Estate Planning
Learn about the challenges you’ll face with crypto estate learning and discover three possible ways to go about it.
While traditional assets like real estate, stocks, or cash are relatively easy to incorporate into estate plans, the decentralized and private nature of cryptocurrencies introduces new complexities.
Keep reading as we discuss the primary challenges of crypto estate planning and explore three viable options for addressing them.
What Makes Crypto Estate Planning Challenging?
Crypto estate planning presents unique difficulties that go beyond traditional financial assets.
Unlike bank accounts or physical property, cryptocurrencies operate on decentralized networks and are protected by private keys, making them more difficult to locate and access.
Additionally, the lack of clear regulations and the growing threat of cyberattacks further complicate the process. Transferring crypto assets to beneficiaries can become a legal and logistical nightmare without the right strategies.
Let’s discuss some of these challenges even further.
Locating and Accessing Crypto Assets
One of the biggest challenges with crypto estate planning is simply knowing where and how to locate the assets. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies makes it challenging to locate and access them after the owner’s death.
Digital wallets, often secured with private keys, may be difficult to find or require specialized knowledge to access. This is especially true if the owner has used multiple wallets or exchanges over time. These wallets can exist across multiple platforms or exchanges, and the decentralized nature of the blockchain means there’s no “help desk” to call if the executor of your estate can’t access them.
What’s worse, private keys are often long strings of random characters, impossible to guess or recreate. Without them, access to cryptocurrency is lost permanently.
Even if an heir knows you have Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), they can’t unlock it without the necessary credentials. This situation makes it essential to have a secure but accessible way of sharing this information as part of your estate plan.
Fiduciary and Oversight Concerns
Traditional estate planning mechanisms, such as wills and trusts, may not be well-suited for managing crypto assets. Cryptocurrencies are less regulated than traditional financial assets. This raises questions about how fiduciaries—such as estate executors, trustees, or legal guardians—can legally manage or oversee these assets.
Bitcoin estate planning becomes particularly complex due to the legal uncertainties and the technical knowledge required to handle these digital assets. Fiduciaries may lack the technical expertise or understanding to manage these digital assets effectively. They may also face challenges in ensuring the security of the assets and protecting against potential losses due to market fluctuations or hacking.
Additionally, some jurisdictions are still figuring out how to treat cryptocurrencies in the context of estate planning.
Are they considered property, currencies, or securities? The classification matters because it determines how taxes apply and what legal rights your heirs have.
Until there’s greater regulatory clarity, crypto estate planning remains murky and filled with legal uncertainties.
Cybersecurity Threats
Cryptocurrency is a lucrative target for cybercriminals. Estate planning involves sharing sensitive information, such as private keys and wallet passwords, which introduces vulnerabilities to your assets.
If your information is compromised, your heirs may not only lose their inheritance but could also face the additional legal and financial burden of trying to recover stolen assets.
Unlike traditional assets that can be frozen or recovered through legal action, once cryptocurrency is stolen, it is extremely difficult—if not impossible—to retrieve. Therefore, cybersecurity is a critical aspect of crypto estate planning.
The risk of unauthorized access to digital wallets increases the complexity of estate planning, as it requires robust security measures to protect the assets. Proper encryption, secure storage, and limiting the number of people with access to sensitive information are all essential in protecting these digital assets from crypto hacks and scams.
Here Are Three Crypto Estate Planning Option That Work
Failing to plan effectively for the transfer of these assets after death can lead to lost wealth or legal challenges for heirs.
Will
While a will is a fundamental estate planning tool, it may not be sufficient for crypto assets. It’s essential to include specific instructions regarding the location of digital wallets, private keys, and any necessary access codes.
Consider appointing a tech-savvy executor who can navigate the complexities of cryptocurrencies. However, be aware that wills can be public documents, so sensitive information about private keys should be handled with care.
Trustee
A more secure option is appointing a trustee who has specific knowledge about how to manage crypto assets. This individual or entity would be responsible for managing and distributing your cryptocurrency holdings according to the instructions in a trust document.
By setting up a trust, you can avoid the public probate process, thereby keeping sensitive information, like private keys, out of the public domain. The trustee can also implement security measures to protect the assets from unauthorized access.
LLC
Another increasingly popular option is to establish an LLC in the United States to hold your cryptocurrency assets. This option allows you to separate your digital holdings from your personal estate, providing both legal protection and privacy.
Upon your death, the LLC would continue to exist, and ownership can be transferred according to the rules you’ve set in place.
An LLC can be particularly beneficial for people with significant crypto holdings, as it offers a legal structure that allows for smoother transitions of ownership. It can also help minimize tax liabilities and protect assets from creditors.
You can establish detailed instructions for how the LLC should be managed after your passing, including the distribution of crypto assets.
The LLC option provides a robust solution to many estate planning challenges. However, setting up and managing an LLC in the U.S. requires careful consideration and involves legal and financial professionals.
Final Take
Crypto estate planning requires a thoughtful and proactive approach. By understanding the challenges and exploring the available options, individuals can ensure that their crypto assets are protected and transferred according to their wishes.
It’s advisable to consult with legal and financial professionals who specialize in cryptocurrencies to develop a comprehensive estate plan that addresses the unique needs of digital assets.
Remember to also regularly review and update your plan as the crypto landscape evolves.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the first quarter of its financial year ended June 30, 2026, Airtel Africa Plc showed resilience in the midst of challenging operating environments, churning out strong operating performance with accelerating customer base growth across all segments.
It was observed that the total customer base in Q1 2027 increased by 11.6 per cent to 189 million, with data customers rising by 15.5 per cent to 87.3 million.
In addition, data usage per customer continued its upward trajectory, rising from 7.8 GB to 10.6 GB per month over the past year, translating into a 56.3 per cent increase in data traffic across the network, underpinning a 10.3 per cent growth in constant currency data ARPU. Smartphone penetration was the key enabler of this increased traffic as penetration increased to 51.0 per cent as digital adoption of our services continues.
A look at the financial performance indicated that revenue in reported currency grew by 31.0 per cent to $1.85 billion, reflecting constant currency growth of 21.1 per cent and macroeconomic tailwinds supporting currency appreciation.
All segments continued to see double-digit constant currency revenue growth, with mobile services revenue growing by 19.1 per cent, and mobile money growing by 25.8 per cent.
Across mobile services, voice continued to see strong constant currency growth of 11.2 per cent and data revenue grew by 27.2 per cent.
In East Africa and Francophone Africa, constant currency revenues grew by 17.8 per cent and 18.0 per cent, respectively, while Nigerian revenues grew by 29.8 per cent, fully reflecting the lapping effect of the tariff adjustments which were implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Constant currency EBITDA went up by 24.4 per cent, with reported currency EBITDA of $928 million growing by 36.6 per cent. The Q1’27 EBITDA margin of 50.1 per cent, an increase of 206bps year-on-year, continues to reflect the success of the company’s ongoing cost optimisation programme, despite the recent energy cost inflation arising from geopolitical developments.
The post-tax profit improved to $198 million from $156 million in the prior period, with higher profit after tax in the current period driven by elevated operating profit partially offset by derivative and foreign exchange losses of $6 million in the current period compared to $22 million derivative and foreign exchange gains in the prior period.
Furthermore, Profit after tax was impacted by the recognition of an exceptional finance cost of $37 million following an in-principle settlement reached during the quarter in respect of a commercial dispute in one of the group’s subsidiaries.
Commenting on the results, the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said, “We have started this year with another pleasing performance. Our continued focus on the customer experience translated into accelerating customer base growth across all business segments.
“As we continue to digitise our business, we are streamlining customer journeys, increasing digital adoption and harnessing data and AI to improve service delivery and support a strong, sustainable growth profile.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the nation’s top brewers, Guinness Nigeria Plc, is paying an interim dividend of N7 per share to its shareholders for the period ended June 30, 2026.
The funds should, on August 10, 2026, hit the bank accounts of investors whose names appear in the Register of Members as of the close of business on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, a regulatory note from the organisation disclosed.
The firm has informed shareholders who have yet to complete the e-dividend registration to download the Registrar’s E-Dividend Mandate Activation Form, which is also available on its website, so as not to be left out of the cash reward for the first half of this year.
In the first six months of 2026, Guinness Nigeria grew its net profit by 53.33 per cent to N25.3 billion from N16.5 billion in the same period of 2025, amid improved top line and better management of administrative, marketing and distribution costs.
The revenue for the period under consideration rose to N265.0 billion from N237.0 billion, boosted by domestic sales of its products, which accounted for N260.9 billion compared with N237.0 billion a year earlier. The balance was from its export sales. This showed that over 98 per cent of the company’s earnings are from sales in Nigeria.
In the first half of the year, Guinness Nigeria improved its gross profit to N97.5 billion from N89.4 billion in the same period of 2025, as its finance income, arising from financial assets and others, stood at N1.2 billion compared with N110.7 million in H1 of 2026.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising domestic capital to finance Nigeria’s long-term development, saying stronger local investment will be critical to accelerating economic transformation and attracting private sector participation.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, stated this while speaking at the 6th Annual General Assembly of the Association of Nigerian Development Finance Institutions (ANDFI) in Abuja on Thursday.
The Minister’s remarks were contained in a statement on Friday, July 24, by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Mrs Maryann Duke.
Addressing the conference with the theme, Unlocking Domestic Capital for Development Financing, Mr Oyedele said Nigeria must harness its domestic financial resources and strengthen institutions that can channel capital into productive sectors of the economy.
He noted that despite increasingly difficult global financing conditions, the country possesses substantial domestic savings, institutional assets and private capital that can be leveraged to fund infrastructure, industrialisation, agriculture, housing, innovation and other critical sectors.
According to the minister, domestic capital should not be viewed as an alternative to foreign investment but as the foundation for attracting sustainable international investment.
“Our focus is to build an economy where confidence leads capital. By strengthening macroeconomic stability, deepening our financial markets and empowering development finance institutions to catalyse private investment, we are unlocking Nigeria’s enormous domestic potential to finance inclusive and sustainable growth,” Mr Oyedele said.
He said the federal government’s ongoing economic reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda are beginning to deliver positive outcomes, including improved investor confidence, stronger external reserves, enhanced revenue generation and renewed international confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
The Minister identified five priority areas for unlocking domestic capital, including expanding investment opportunities for households, deepening institutional capital through pension and insurance assets, strengthening credit enhancement mechanisms, broadening local currency financing through the capital market, and building stronger development finance institutions capable of attracting larger volumes of private investment.
Mr Oyedele also called on development finance institutions to move beyond conventional lending by helping to structure bankable projects, reduce investment risks, support policy reforms and create financing ecosystems that encourage greater private sector participation.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to working with development finance institutions, financial regulators, investors and development partners to develop a financing framework that will support businesses, create jobs, accelerate industrialisation and promote inclusive economic growth across the country.
