The sudden death of multi-billionaire Matthew Mellon has raised many questions not only about the causes of death, but also about his fiat and cryptocurrency millions. The $500 million inheritance in Ripple may go unclaimed.
Matthew Mellon is an American multi-billionaire, heir to a large banking business. I started investing in cryptocurrency several years ago, at the dawn of the development of the crypto industry. The family's total wealth was estimated at $11.5 billion, of which about $900 million - 1 billion were in cryptocurrency assets, according to the published list of crypto millionaires Forbes.
The sudden death of a multi-billionaire has drawn attention to the lack of resolution of inheritance rights to crypto assets. Most jurisdictions, when it comes to death, transfer that person's assets to their immediate family. However, crypto information is not configured for this type of transfer by default. Precautions when storing crypto assets, wallet passwords, pass codes and key phrases are known only to the users themselves. If they were not voluntarily announced to the heirs, then it is almost impossible to gain access to the digital assets of the deceased.
The crypto industry is built on the principles of confidentiality, security and protection of the private key, which gives access to operating funds in the wallet. Security mechanisms are constantly being improved and encouraged by the industry. The only way someone can access a user's funds is if they have the keys to the wallet. In the event that the user is unable to provide the private key, there is a problem faced by Matthew Mellon's heirs. There are various reports that have stated different amounts as the final balance of Ripple (XRP) ranging from $250 million to $500 million.
Mellon was one of the very first traders to invest in Ripple, using $2 million to get his share of the tokens at its inception.
Currently, the only way Matthew Mellon's family can access the cryptocurrency wallet is to find the key to access it. According to rumors, he kept secret keys in different areas of the United States under different names. If the heirs fail to find it, $500 million in Ripple may be lost forever.
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