Deadhand Protocol
Deadhand is a crypto emergency backup service that ensures your digital assets reach your family if you pass away or become incapacitated. It uses Shamir's Secret Sharing to split access into three key shards—one you keep, one your family holds, and one Deadhand guards, releasing it only after you stop checking in. This prevents self-custodied crypto from being lost forever without requiring your heirs to navigate traditional estate planning.
- Artificial Intelligence
- Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
- Clean Technology
- Financial Technology
- Software Only
Funding
Founders
Product
Problem
Self-custodied cryptocurrency is often unrecoverable after the owner dies, leaving families without access to digital assets they don't know exist or cannot unlock. Traditional estate planning burdens grieving relatives with locating accounts and navigating complex financial processes, compounding their loss with financial uncertainty.
Solution
Deadhand provides a fail-safe system that automatically transfers crypto assets to designated family members after the owner's death or incapacitation. The platform splits a recovery key using Shamir's Secret Sharing into three shards: one held by the user, one by the family, and one guarded by Deadhand. Users maintain full control and can recover their keys offline at any time without relying on the service. If the user stops checking in, Deadhand releases its shard to the family, enabling them to combine the two remaining pieces and unlock the assets they were meant to inherit.
Target Audience
The primary audience is tech-savvy cryptocurrency holders who self-custody their assets and want to ensure their family can inherit those assets without requiring technical expertise or navigating traditional estate processes.
Features
- Shamir's Secret Sharing splits emergency access into three shards, with two required for full recovery and one revealing zero information
- User-controlled recovery is available offline at any time, without needing Deadhand's participation
- Automatic shard release to family members triggers when the user stops periodic check-ins
- Industry-standard cryptographic protocol provides mathematically secure key distribution
- Simple custody model: user keeps a shard, family holds another, and Deadhand guards the third as a safety net