The UAE has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption in the world. A significant portion of UAE residents hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams. Yet very few have made arrangements for what happens to those assets when they die.
The Problem With Digital Assets
Unlike a bank account, cryptocurrency held in a private wallet is inaccessible without the private key or seed phrase. If that information dies with you, the assets are gone permanently, no court order can recover them. Even exchange-held accounts can be extremely difficult for families to access without account credentials, and exchanges often have strict policies on estate claims.
What to Include in Your Will
Your UAE will should reference digital assets in general terms (rather than listing specific wallet addresses or account numbers, which change). The practical work of ensuring access, private keys, seed phrases, account credentials, should be documented separately in a secure, updated document that your executor knows how to find.
- Reference digital assets in your will ('all cryptocurrency and digital assets held in my name')
- Store access information (keys, seed phrases) securely, in a physical safe, or with a lawyer
- Brief your executor on where to find this information
- Update the access document every time you change wallets or exchange accounts
- Consider naming a technically capable executor or co-executor for digital assets
Online Investment and Brokerage Accounts
Investment accounts held with UAE-regulated platforms (Saxo, Interactive Brokers, etc.) can be claimed through probate if a valid will exists. Without one, the same freezing and court procedures apply. Include these explicitly in your will and ensure your executor knows they exist.
OwnX wills include guidance on digital asset provisions. Start your will from AED 749.
Start Your Will
Aanchal Adhikari (Advocate, LL.B., LL.M. (Cand.))
Senior Specialist & UAE Estate Planning Advocate
Aanchal Adhikari is a Nepal-licensed Advocate with 4+ years of legal practice, specialized in ADJD Wills, DIFC wills, and UAE inheritance. She has drafted and overseen 800+ ADJD Wills in the UAE and is currently pursuing an LL.M. at Middlesex University Dubai.
View full profile & all articles →