In the, perhaps unlikely, event that bitcoin becomes mainstream, there are going to be lots of people with significant wealth in cold storage that risks being permanently lost if they die (or stolen if their inheritance documents reveal too much). So we need a way of getting private keys to beneficiaries without risk, perhaps involving some kind of secret sharing scheme and reasonably trusted third parties (lawyers, friends, relatives). I've spent some time thinking about how you'd achieve this, and have concluded that it's beyond me. But if anyone here wants to try it, I'll be both a tester during development and a customer.
> So we need a way of getting private keys to beneficiaries without risk, perhaps involving some kind of secret sharing scheme and reasonably trusted third parties (lawyers, friends, relatives). I've spent some time thinking about how you'd achieve this, and have concluded that it's beyond me.<p>Seriously? I could have the core system developed within a day. Do you want me to do it?
With <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0038" rel="nofollow">https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0038</a> the protected private key can be stored securely, and family members could be given the passphrase during the owner's lifetime.