Tales from the Crypt 7: Estate Representative Seeks Help from Coinbase Subreddit Twice

Yet again, Coinbase’s subreddit proves to be rife with stories of family members and fiduciaries trying, and failing, to gain access to a deceased person’s cryptocurrency. Today we will be looking into a recent case where an estate representative and partner of the deceased was not able to access the deceased’s crypto assets, and had so much difficulty dealing with Coinbase that they turned to Reddit.

In August 2023, a reddit user posted in Coinbase’s subreddit for a second time, stating “I’m starting another post about this.” They went on to explain that they had initially tried to gain access to the account but were denied as they didn’t have the necessary documentation. They returned a few months later with court documents appointing them to the role of estate representative, however they ended up stuck in a loop with customer service, being prompted to login to the account repeatedly despite not knowing the login credentials. Confused, the Reddit user believed the “sign in” prompts might be directing them to make their OWN account with Coinbase, but they didn’t want to do that and it is unclear what that would have achieved, as Coinbase will not move assets from the deceased’s account.

Stating “I can’t figure out how to get a live agent [...] you can’t email them either”, the user concluded their post. The only two comments they received were one instructing them to “pose as him or her”, essentially breaking the law and risking the account being locked for malicious activity, and a Coinbase bot posting their contact info, which the user had already tried contacting many times before.

It is unclear whether or not the user managed to gain access to the assets, but based on our previous Coinbase Tales from the Crypt, it is unlikely. The best option, unfortunately, would be for the estate representative to file a complaint with the BBB and potentially the CFPB, as other posters had to do to gain access to a deceased person’s Coinbase account. Planning for and administering digital accounts is complicated, and pre-emptive planning is the best and often only way to ensure assets are recoverable. Bequest.com recognizes the staggering amount of value people store online, and is solving these problems for the world of trusts and estates.

See you again soon for another Tale from the Crypt!