Once relegated to the fringes of finance, cryptocurrency has ascended into the wealth sphere and now features prominently in the portfolios of the world’s most sophisticated investors. For high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), digital assets now represent more than speculative opportunity—they’ve become legitimate wealth vehicles, complete with the complexity and consequences that accompany legacy planning.
As Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report 2024 underscores, the rise of crypto wealth is not just a headline—it’s a paradigm shift. And with it comes an urgent call to rethink how we preserve, protect, and pass on digital fortunes.
The old guard meets the new crypto world
For centuries, estate planning has orbited the tangible: bricks, land, equities, trusts. Structures were predictable. Assets could be touched, traced, taxed.
But crypto is different.
It’s volatile.
It’s decentralized.
It’s password-protected.
And most critically—it’s easily lost in the absence of forethought.
“The same estate structures and strategies employed for traditional forms of wealth can be effectively deployed for crypto wealth,” notes the Henley report. But they must be reengineered with clarity around access, valuation, and control—concepts far more nebulous in the digital domain
Adapting estate planning for crypto wealth
Traditional estate planning strategies, which have long focused on physical assets such as real estate and equities, now require rethinking to account for digital wealth. Estate planners in jurisdictions like the UK, the US, Switzerland, and Singapore, which are known for their advanced wealth management ecosystems, need to take additional steps to protect and pass on cryptocurrency holdings.
1. Updating Legal Frameworks for Digital Assets
In traditional estate planning, the language of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney revolves around tangible assets. However, as cryptocurrencies gain in popularity, these documents must evolve to include digital assets explicitly. Lawyers and estate planners need to work with their clients to define how crypto assets are to be accessed, who can manage them, and under what circumstances they can be transferred.
The Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report notes that while traditional estate strategies can still be effective for managing crypto assets, the key is making them more adaptable. These adaptations should ensure that heirs in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong or Dubai have clear instructions on how to manage and access the wealth after the owner’s death.
2. Valuation and Reporting of Crypto Assets
Unlike stocks or real estate, cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile, presenting challenges when valuing assets for estate purposes. Effective estate planners in wealth hubs like London or New York must partner with experts in the crypto market to ensure that assets are accurately valued at the time of transfer.
Cryptocurrency estate planning must address how to handle the fluctuating value of digital assets. With access to accurate data sources, planners can provide precise valuations, ensuring tax filings are accurate and compliant with local regulations in jurisdictions such as the EU, the US, or Canada.
3. Adapting to the Regulatory Landscape
The regulatory environment for cryptocurrency varies greatly across regions, with countries like the United States, Singapore, and the UK having developed sophisticated frameworks for digital asset regulation.Estate planners must stay informed about the regulatory environment in these countries, adjusting strategies as needed to ensure compliance and protect the interests of heirs.
Securing the future - access to digital crypto assets, legacy and tax
The security of digital assets is paramount. For high-net-worth individuals in jurisdictions like Singapore and Switzerland—where cryptocurrency is increasingly central to wealth portfolios—estate planning must go beyond the traditional. Ensuring secure storage of private keys and access credentials is not just a best practice; it’s a necessity. From cold storage solutions and multi-signature wallets to encrypted backups, robust protocols must be embedded within the estate plan to safeguard these intangible yet highly valuable assets.
But security alone isn’t enough.
Unlike traditional holdings, digital assets exist across decentralized networks, often without a central authority to intervene in the event of mismanagement or loss. That’s why a comprehensive digital legacy plan is essential. Estate documents must include clear, detailed instructions—written in accessible language—for heirs or fiduciaries to locate, unlock, and manage crypto holdings. Without this foresight, significant portions of wealth risk becoming irretrievable.
The Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth report underscores how vital this planning is, particularly in regions with advanced crypto adoption. In markets like Switzerland and Singapore, where clients frequently manage multi-jurisdictional portfolios, estate plans must anticipate cross-border challenges and ensure seamless asset transfer across legal and technical environments.
Finally, the tax implications of crypto assets can be as volatile as the assets themselves. Depending on the jurisdiction, cryptocurrencies may trigger capital gains, estate, inheritance, and even reporting obligations. Wealth hubs like the US, UK, and EU each take a different approach to taxing digital assets. For HNWIs in cities such as London, New York, and Zurich, strategic estate planning demands close collaboration with cross-border tax experts to pre-emptively address liabilities.
The goal: to preserve the integrity of the estate while minimizing exposure to avoidable tax burdens.
In the evolving landscape of digital wealth, security, legacy, and tax are no longer peripheral concerns—they are the pillars of a resilient estate plan.
The future of estate planning for crypto wealth
As cryptocurrency continues to mature, estate planning must evolve to meet the needs of those whose portfolios now include these complex digital assets. Estate planners in major wealth jurisdictions—whether London, Zurich, New York, or Dubai—must adapt their strategies to accommodate this new asset class.
With proper planning, crypto wealth can be transferred smoothly to the next generation, preserving the value of the estate while minimizing tax implications and ensuring compliance with local regulations. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, estate plans must remain agile, ensuring that crypto assets are protected for generations to come.
