Coinbase, Kraken and Binance each publish a page explaining what to do when a customer dies. Crypto.com doesn't. As of September 2026 its help center has no deceased-customer article, and its app terms don't describe an estate process. That doesn't mean the crypto is lost. Crypto.com holds the assets in its app for the customer, so the estate can ask for them. It means the family has to start the conversation through Crypto.com's ordinary support channel and come prepared.
Which Crypto.com product did they use?
Crypto.com runs several products, and they don't work the same way after a death.
| What you found | What it is | Route |
|---|---|---|
| The Crypto.com App, emails from crypto.com, bank transfers to Crypto.com | Custodial app account | Crypto.com support, as described below |
| A Crypto.com Exchange login | Custodial exchange account | The same support channel; mention it separately |
| A Crypto.com prepaid or Visa card | Card linked to the app account | Include it in the same request and ask for the card to be frozen |
| The "Crypto.com Onchain" or "DeFi Wallet" app, or a list of 12, 18 or 24 words | Self-custody wallet | The owner's recovery phrase; Crypto.com can't recover it |
Crypto.com describes its Onchain wallet (formerly the DeFi Wallet) as generating and storing private keys on the user's device, and warns that no company can recover a non-custodial wallet if the recovery phrase is lost.
Step 1: Contact Crypto.com support
Crypto.com's terms point customers to live in-app chat or chat.crypto.com. You don't need the owner's phone to use the web chat.
- Open chat.crypto.com yourself, typing the address. Don't use a phone number from a search result.
- Say you are writing about a deceased customer's account, give the registered email address, and ask for the deceased-customer or estate process.
- Ask exactly which documents Crypto.com needs and how to send them securely.
- Keep a log of every chat, reference number and date.
Crypto.com's complaints policy says customers can also act through a third party such as a legal representative. If an executor or a lawyer is handling the estate, they can make the request.
Step 2: Prepare the documents exchanges usually ask for
Crypto.com hasn't published its own list, so prepare what exchanges with a published process ask for. Crypto.com may ask for something different.
| Document | Why it's usually needed |
|---|---|
| Death certificate | A complete, legible copy of the official certificate |
| Proof of authority | Letters testamentary, letters of administration or a small-estate affidavit showing who can act for the estate |
| Your photo ID | A current government-issued ID that matches the name on the authority document |
| Account details | The registered email, and the phone number if you know it |
| A signed letter | Stating the death, your role and what you're asking Crypto.com to do |
Kraken and Coinbase, for example, both ask for a death certificate, proof of appointment and the representative's ID. The full comparison is in how to claim a deceased person's exchange account.
Step 3: Ask how the assets will be released
Before anything moves, ask Crypto.com:
- Will the crypto be transferred to an heir's account or wallet, or sold for cash?
- Can it provide the value of each asset on the date of death?
- Is there anything on the Exchange, in staking or on the card that needs a separate request?
Ask the estate's adviser whether a transfer or a sale is better. For how heirs are taxed when they sell later, see is inherited crypto taxable?
Closing the Crypto.com account
Crypto.com's help center says the App/Web account, the Crypto.com Visa Card and the Exchange account must be closed together. Before an account can be closed, it lists these conditions: all funds withdrawn from the App and the Exchange, no card balance, no active CRO stake or lockup, no active Crypto Earn terms, nothing allocated in Supercharger, and no open UpDown or Strike Options positions. It also says the transaction history can't be accessed once the account is closed.
That guidance is written for owners closing their own account in the app. For a deceased customer, ask support to close the account as part of the estate request, and before it's closed:
- Make sure every balance (App, Exchange, card, Earn, staking) has been released to the estate.
- Download or ask for the full transaction history; the executor and the heirs' tax adviser will need it.
- Ask for written confirmation that the App account, card and Exchange account are closed.
If there is a Crypto.com Onchain wallet
No estate document opens a self-custody wallet. Look for the recovery phrase in the owner's papers, a safe or a letter of instruction, and see where people usually store seed phrases. If the phone with the app still works, don't reset it: the app may still hold the wallet. Never type a recovery phrase into a website or give it to anyone who contacts you.
Don't sign in, and watch for fake support
Signing in with the owner's password or phone isn't a claim, and it can complicate the estate. Keep the owner's phone number and email active while the claim runs.
Fake "Crypto.com support" phone numbers are common in search results. Crypto.com's terms direct customers to in-app chat and chat.crypto.com. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center has warned about companies that falsely claim they can recover crypto for an upfront fee. See the recovery-scam checklist and which wallet support numbers are real.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
If you use Crypto.com: make it easier for your family
Because Crypto.com publishes no estate process and we found no beneficiary option, your executor will be starting from scratch. Help them:
- Write down that you have a Crypto.com account and which email it uses.
- Keep your verified name the same as on your legal documents.
- If you use Crypto.com Onchain, record where the recovery phrase is kept, not the phrase itself, in a place your executor will find.
- Say where your will and estate papers are.
A letter of instruction can hold all of this without any password. PingVaults can deliver that note to a trusted contact after a period of inactivity; it doesn't replace Crypto.com's process or prove anyone's authority.
For other platforms, see the guides to Robinhood, Kraken and Binance.
Common questions
Does Crypto.com have a deceased-account form?
We couldn't find one. As of September 2026, Crypto.com's help center has no deceased-customer article, and its app terms send customers to live chat. Start at chat.crypto.com and ask for the estate process.
Can I name a beneficiary on Crypto.com?
We found no beneficiary option in Crypto.com's help center or app terms. Assets in the app go through the estate.
Can Crypto.com recover an Onchain or DeFi Wallet?
No. It's a self-custody wallet: the keys are on the owner's device and backed up by the recovery phrase. Without the phrase, Crypto.com can't restore it.
How do I close a deceased person's Crypto.com account?
Ask Crypto.com support, through chat.crypto.com, to close it as part of the estate request. Crypto.com closes the App/Web account, Visa Card and Exchange account together, and only after every balance, stake, Earn term and open position is cleared, so release the assets to the estate and save the transaction history first.
How long does a Crypto.com estate claim take?
Crypto.com doesn't publish a timeline. Complete documents with matching names, and quick replies to its questions, are the part you control.