Crypto inheritance gains urgency as Binance urges users to activate an emergency contact feature, transforming how long-dormant digital assets are protected and passed to beneficiaries.
Binance Drops 3-Step Failsafe to Protect Your Crypto When You Go Dark
A strategic inheritance mechanism is gaining traction in crypto as Binance introduces a contact-based emergency recovery feature for long-dormant accounts. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance stated on social media platform X that users can nominate an emergency contact to help recover assets if the account becomes inactive. The company explained:
Safeguard your crypto assets on Binance for your loved ones by nominating your emergency contact in 3 simple steps.
The new feature is structured around three specific user-defined steps. First, the user provides the name and contact details of a trusted emergency contact. Second, they set a custom inactivity period that defines how long their account must remain untouched before Binance takes any action. Third, they specify an initial contact duration—the window of time Binance will use to try and reach the account holder before reaching out to the nominated contact.
This rollout coincides with renewed calls for broader estate planning tools in the industry. Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated on social media platform X: “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.”
Zhao acknowledged the discomfort surrounding the topic: “This is a topic people avoid, but the fact is, humans cannot live forever yet.” He further commented, “Better to be a responsible person to your loved ones,” and clarified that while self-custody offers flexibility, “Self-custody requires quite a bit more setup to get this right.”
Skeptics raise concerns that such features may introduce new risks related to privacy and identity verification, but many see Binance’s approach as a necessary evolution. Centralized services continue to dominate the onboarding of mainstream users, and inheritance readiness is becoming a key differentiator. Advocates of decentralized solutions maintain that secure legal wills and well-managed keys can still ensure asset continuity without ceding control, suggesting a layered approach to crypto succession may be most effective.