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Yes — in principle. The Property (Digital Assets etc.) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in December 2025, formally recognises cryptocurrency, NFTs and other digital assets as property under English and Welsh law. This gives executors clear legal authority to deal with them as part of the estate. The practical challenge, however, is significant: without the private keys or passwords, the assets may be completely inaccessible — even to a court.
For many years, English law did not clearly recognise digital assets as property. This created real uncertainty for executors: was cryptocurrency part of the estate? Could a court make orders about it? Did it attract IHT?
The Property (Digital Assets etc.) Act 2025 resolves this. It formally recognises digital assets — including cryptocurrency, NFTs and certain digital accounts — as a third category of property under English and Welsh law, alongside personal property and real property.
This matters for executors because it:
The Act covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems; similar reforms are being considered but are not yet in force.
Common digital assets that may form part of an estate include:
All of these must be included in the estate valuation for IHT purposes. Executors who are not aware of digital assets held by the deceased may inadvertently undervalue the estate — which can trigger an HMRC investigation. See our guide on HMRC IHT investigations for context.
The most important thing to understand about accessing cryptocurrency after a death is the difference between exchange-held and wallet-held assets:
| Type | How it works | Access after death |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange account (e.g. Coinbase, Binance, Kraken) | The exchange holds the assets on your behalf — like a bank holding your money | Contact the exchange's bereavement team with a death certificate and probate. Most exchanges can transfer or cash out on production of the right documents. |
| Private wallet (hardware or software) | The assets are controlled by a private key or seed phrase held only by the owner — no third party is involved | Without the private key or seed phrase, the crypto is permanently inaccessible. No court, no exchange, and no technical service can override cryptographic security. |
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If your loved one held cryptocurrency on an exchange (such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, or a UK platform like Revolut or Freetrade), the process is similar to claiming a bank account:
Major exchanges have bereavement processes in place and, in most cases, will cooperate fully with an executor who has the right documentation. Response times vary — be prepared for this to take weeks rather than days.
If your loved one held cryptocurrency in a private wallet — a hardware device like a Ledger or Trezor, or a software wallet on a phone or computer — access requires the private key or seed phrase (a sequence of 12 or 24 words). Without this, the cryptocurrency is permanently inaccessible.
Before concluding the assets are lost, search thoroughly for:
Important: do not wipe or reset a hardware wallet
If you find a Ledger, Trezor or other hardware wallet device, do not wipe or factory reset it — this will permanently destroy access to the assets. Take specialist advice from a digital estate specialist before touching the device.
If you are unable to access digital assets and there is good reason to believe they exist and have significant value, you have several options:
For more on digital assets in estate administration, see our guide on cryptocurrency after death in the UK. Farra helps you manage everything — from crypto to bank accounts — in one organised place — get started here.
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