[Cryptography] Business opportunities in crypto

[Jerry Leichter]

> I had lunch with a colleague the other day and we were
> discussing business opportunities in the crypto space.
> 
> I suggested several possibilities, and I'd love to know
> if anyone is already working on such things.
> 
> 1. Digital Wills. Almost everyone now has tens of id/pw
> pairs that access bank accounts, social media accounts,
> etc., but these data are incredibly toxic, as even a
> small % of these data could be used to take over your
> identity and destroy your life. Nevertheless, if you
> pass on, someone has to be able to access these accounts
> to properly administrate your assets according to your
> will. Clearly, some number of people -- your lawyer,
> your family members, the govt, etc. -- need to know
> some of the bits, but only when your death certificate
> is filed can your accounts be accessed, and then only
> by a combination of those people, and not by any
> individual person.
The Wall Street Journal had an article about exactly this topic a couple of days ago.  I think it's behind a paywall, but if you reach it via search you should be able to see it.  Search for the title "A Digital Vault to Store Information for your Heirs." There are a couple of companies doing this already, but as the article points out, you really need to (a) trust them; (b) trust they will actually be around - something that's tough for a startup to do.  I'd guess banks - who've had centuries establishing this kind of reputation - will end up getting involved.
                                                        -- Jerry