Dying, Bitcoin and Inheritance

February 01, 2024 •

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I used to live in Kyiv, Ukraine, until I got bombed. I contemplate how this world is unstable: one day, you work and live in a comfortable environment. I have plans for my life, but the next day, anything can happen.

I take responsibility for my employees as an entrepreneur. I run a small tech company. Worst-case scenario, I don’t want to leave my team with nothing. That includes a well-deserved paycheck. Leaving Ukraine made me wonder: What would happen if my face was too charming for a bus and it ran me over?

Prepare to die: Tech Version


How do I secure the legacy I'm trying to build as a small software-developing company? We do not have automated employee payments. We are small and intend to stay small.

What happens to my team's salaries? What happens to the work we've done together? I pondered all traditional solutions, but I've found them cumbersome. We all live in different jurisdictions and work remotely.

Each country has different banking systems and currencies. The fluctuations and differences make traditional solutions inefficient. Bitcoin is the solution to all these questions. I’ll explain more further.

Setting up my Bitcoin inheritance plan - simple steps


Bitcoin to the rescue! So, where do we start? I made a small server that asks via Telegram if I am alive every week.

If I don't reply to this message in 3 weeks, it will send a password to every full-time employee. The password will help them open an encrypted file containing a Bitcoin wallet.

I have uploaded an open-source version of this script to GitHub, and you can check our https://github.com/MartinBaunWorld/valhalla.

What's next?


Transferring ownership of company assets can't be done conventionally as it is in the legacy legal framework. Finding an internationally recognized notary who will help me write a will is a possible workaround. This is a probable solution that solves the problem of inheritance.

Till then, my focus remains on Goleko. I am creating the best project management tool that will integrate everything good about project management tools and sort out everything wrong about project management tools. You can use Goleko to enhance your productivity and efficiency in everything you do.

I have also been using 7 principles to promote the efficiency of my remote team. You can read all about it here. 7 Tips for Effective Communication in Remote Teams

Side Note, why Bitcoin?


Bitcoin is the best solution to this problem. It ensures the inheritance for small businesses like ours. I'd like to point out two key reasons:

Inflation resistant

Bitcoin operates outside the government's control thus nobody manages the money supply. This prevents possible inflation pressures of regular fiat currencies. Bitcoin has a fixed supply limit of 21 million. Inflation reduces the purchasing power of fiat currencies over time. BTC stays immune to the money release rules that central banks use to devalue their currencies. This helps Bitcoin maintain its value better over the long term.

Decentralized

Bitcoin's independent nature makes it less vulnerable to the banking system's mistakes, crises, and regulations. Regular banking systems are centralized, making them prone to human failures and security breaches.

Troubles affecting one bank may collapse the whole system as they are connected. A central bank chairman's mistake is crucial for the global financial structure.

Bitcoin's independent network is maintained by thousands of independent nodes worldwide. This makes it more resilient to attacks and failures.

In 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers caused a global financial crisis that led to the failure of several large banks. It highlighted the fragility of the traditional banking system and the need for alternative payment solutions like Bitcoin.

This is a fair solution to a crisis! That's what we need for our "death case".