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DEADSWITCH

Your Crypto Shouldn't Die With You

Crypto is lost forever when owners die.
DEADSWITCH automatically transfers your crypto to your heirs — safely, on-chain, and without trusting anyone.
In memory of my father

My father passed away last week — This project exists because losing someone shouldn't mean losing everything they left behind.

The Problem

$140B

In crypto permanently lost. Owners died, lost keys, or became incapacitated without sharing access with anyone.

$6 Trillion

Will transfer via inheritance by 2045. The largest wealth transfer in history includes crypto, and there's no standard process for it.

No Decentralized Solution

Casa is centralized and costs $250/yr. Sarcophagus requires buying their SARCO token. Neither uses hardware wallets or proof-of-humanity for heirs.

Your Family Gets Nothing

No standard recovery process exists. When you die, your crypto dies with you. Your family has no way to access, claim, or even prove ownership. DeadSwitch fixes this.

The Solution

Owner
→
Heartbeat
→
Smart Contract
←
Chainlink

If 90 days no heartbeat → Recovery Mode → Pre-approved heir + World ID (anti-bot) → Claims on Ledger → Funds transferred

  • ✓ Monthly heartbeat — Prove you're alive by signing on Ledger
  • ✓ Chainlink Automation — Decentralized, unstoppable timer
  • ✓ Multi-factor claim — Pre-approved address + World ID (anti-bot) + optional secret
  • ✓ Shamir Secret Sharing — Key split into 5 shards (3-of-5 recovery)
  • ✓ 0G Storage — Encrypted shards with long-term resilience
  • ✓ Ledger approval — Hardware wallet security for every action
⚡ OPEN LIVE DEMO 💀 SIMULATE DEATH

Architecture

OWNER Ledger heartbeat
▼
InheritanceVault.sol
Deployed on Sepolia
▼
Chainlink Automation Checks every 30 days
▼
90 DAYS NO HEARTBEAT
▼
RECOVERY MODE
▼
APPROVE
Heartbeat
received
PENDING
Warning
sent
CLAIM
Heir
claims
▼
0G Evidence Encrypted shard storage
ENS Names hugo.eth → wife.eth

How It Works

Three steps. No lawyer. No company. Just math.

01
Set Up
Connect your wallet. Add your beneficiary (wife.eth). Deposit ETH into the vault. Choose your heartbeat interval.
5 minutes to set up
02
Stay Alive
Sign a heartbeat monthly on your Ledger. One click. The timer resets. As long as you check in, nothing happens. Your crypto stays yours.
One click per month
03
Protected
If you stop checking in, Chainlink triggers after 90 days. Your heir verifies with World ID and claims the funds on Ledger. Automatic inheritance.
Fully automatic recovery
Connect Wallet → Add Beneficiary → Heartbeat ✓ → 90 Days Pass → Heir Claims

Sponsor Integrations

Applying for 3 prize tracks — all with real, verifiable implementations.

Additional integrations (in codebase, not primary submissions):

Live Demo Results

The full inheritance flow, end to end.

✓
Heartbeat Sent
Owner alive, timer reset to 90 days
ALIVE
⏰
90 Days Pass
No heartbeat detected. Chainlink triggers countdown.
EXPIRED
🚨
Recovery Mode Activated
Vault unlocked for beneficiary. Recovery process begins.
RECOVERY
🆔
World ID Verified
Heir proves they are a real, unique human. No bots, no fraud.
VERIFIED
💰
Inheritance Claimed
3.2 ETH transferred to wife.eth. Automatic, trustless, permanent.
CLAIMED
Total time: 90 days (configurable) • Zero intermediaries • Minimizes trust assumptions

Market & Revenue

INHERITANCE MARKET
$6 Trillion

by 2045 — largest wealth transfer in history

CRYPTO HOLDERS
560 Million

potential users who need a recovery plan

Only competitor: Sarcophagus — $5.47M raised, 3 employees
The market is wide open.

SECURITY MODEL — THREAT MITIGATIONS

Wrong person claims?
Multi-factor: pre-approved address (set at vault creation) + World ID (anti-bot) + optional secret phrase. Three layers.
Shards compromised?
3-of-5 Shamir threshold — attacker needs 3 shards from different storage locations. Encrypted at rest.
Owner forgets heartbeat?
Multi-channel alerts (email, push, on-chain event). 30-day warning period before recovery. Owner can resume anytime.
Heir loses access?
Owner can update beneficiary anytime while vault is active. Multiple heirs supported in future version.
Monetization is future work. Today's focus: build the infrastructure right.

V2 Roadmap

From hackathon to production - what comes next.

Percentage-Based Inheritance
No more locking funds. Owner approves the contract as spender.
Uses wallet freely - heirs inherit a % of whatever balance exists at death.
Like a real will - "50% to wife, 30% to son, 20% to charity"
Multi-Heir with Splits
Multiple beneficiaries with custom percentages.
wife.eth: 50% | son.eth: 30% | redcross.eth: 20%
Each heir claims independently.
Fallback Beneficiaries
If primary heir doesn't claim in 180 days, fallback heir activates.
If nobody claims in 1 year, funds go to charity.
Your crypto does good even after everyone is gone.
Guardian + Coma Protection
Trusted contact can pause recovery if owner is alive but incapacitated.
Owner can resume from recovery anytime.
30-day cancel window before funds move.
ZK Activity Proofs
Prove you're alive without revealing your private key.
Zero-knowledge proof submitted on-chain as heartbeat.
Maximum privacy for the vault owner.
Yield-Bearing Vaults
Locked ETH earns yield via Aave/Compound while waiting.
Your inheritance grows over time.
Interest accrues to the vault, inherited by the heir.

Vision

Every person with crypto needs a plan
for what happens after.

We built that plan.

Decentralized. Verified. Automatic.
"If I stop checking in, my family gets my crypto.
No lawyer. No company. No keys held by anyone.
Just math."
ETHGlobal Cannes 2026