It is hard to centralize Bitcoin. Moreover, it is impossible to transfer Bitcoin from a dead man’s account to its inheritors. However, Lightning Labs infrastructure engineer, Joost Jager, is now developing a dead man’s switch that can send the Bitcoin from a dead man’s account to his inheritors. It uses a unique, yet simple, method to make that transfer happen.
And for that to be successful, the Bitcoin account holder must use Lightning Messaging, more importantly, a Bitcoin (BTC) HODLER. According to this service, the user has to click a button periodically.
This basically is a service where the user has to click a switch regularly, like once a month or year. And it’s a way for the company to know whether the account user is active and alive or not.
But when the user is dead, he or she is unable to click the switch. In that case, the lightning message is sent to his or her inheritors. That message can include a private key, seed phrase, or a hint about where to find the private key/seed. These hints may lead the inheritors to redeem the Bitcoin (BTC).
The dead man’s switch is a great initiative because using this does not involve any third party. This switch is designed for the same purpose, to keep the people and data protected. The Bitcoin in the dead man’s account is safe. And upon a person’s demise, it safely gets transferred from the dead Bitcoin (BTC) HODLER to the inheritors.
Other parties like Deadswitch are also trying to develop the dead man’s switch into something more advanced. Many other developers and researchers like Jacob Riggs are taking charge and trying their best to make the switch anonymous. And their efforts are bearing fruits.
