CoinMarketCap.com currently tracks the value of each of the 867 cryptocurrencies. They estimate the combined value of these currencies is in excess of $161 billion. The explosion of interest and purchase of virtual currencies is significant for estate planners given the intangible nature of the items purchased. There are numerous stories of early bitcoins users with millions of dollars’ worth of the currency passing away and losing their investment because unwary family members threw away passkeys. In this new currency age, it is vital that estate planners ask clients about their virtual holdings and provide advice about planning requirements needed to safeguard and distribute their investment.
See Murtha Cullina, Every Day is Bitcoin Pizza Day: What Clients and Estate Planners Need to Know About Virtual Currency, Lexology, September 6, 2017.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
