When I first started buying cryptocurrencies in 2017, one of the first lessons I learned was to “keep my private keys private.” I read articles and watched YouTube videos that said to never share your private keys with anyone because they might get into your wallet and steal your tokens. This might not be such great advice. Before you disagree with me, please keep on reading. 

While I agree to some extent with that safety rule, I want to tell you a story about a man who suddenly died at a young age and perhaps never told his spouse where his private keys were. Let me explain further.

Last week I received an e-mail from a friend who is a crypto investor and someone that I trust. He told me about a friend of his who was heavily invested in cryptocurrencies who died suddenly. Losing a friend or a loved one is difficult to say the least. The possibility exists that the person who died suddenly might not have told his wife where he kept his private keys. If that ends being true, all of this man’s entire crypto portfolio will never be recovered again. His wife and children might never have access to his crypto wallets because it was kept a secret.

You might be starting to understand why I’m writing this article about not keeping your private keys private. So, I’m encouraging everyone to have a backup plan for your private keys in the unlikely event you die suddenly. For some of you, this might be an area that is uncomfortable. No one likes to think about death, especially your own death! I understand. 

There are several people in my life that I trust completely who are familiar with crypto wallets that have access to my private keys. They know which wallets I have and how many tokens are in each wallet. Call me crazy but I’m not going to waste all the crypto investments that I’ve made in case I pass away unexpectedly.

What about you? Are you the only one who holds or has access to your private keys? Do you have a plan in place in the event of your premature or accidental death? Would you want your entire crypto portfolio to be “lost” forever after you die because you never told anyone about your private keys? My suggestion is you is to have a backup plan for all your investments, especially your crypto portfolio.