Bitcoin Inheritance Services Compared: Unchained, Casa, River, and Onramp
Jackson Mikalic | Head of Business Development
Published
It depends on what you want your family to deal with. If you want to keep holding your own keys, Unchained and Casa are built for that, and your heirs will handle keys. If you want the simplest account and accept one company holding the bitcoin, River fits. If you want your family to inherit without keys and without relying on one company, Multi-Institution Custody with a transfer on death agreement is built for that.
Onramp publishes this page. Competitor details come from each company's own website, last verified November 12, 2026.
Every bitcoin inheritance service has to answer two questions:
- Can your family reach the bitcoin?
- Does it legally pass to them?
The four services here answer those questions in three different ways.
- Collaborative custody (Unchained, Casa). Your family inherits keys. The company helps, but your family does the key handling.
- A single custodian (River). Your family inherits an account. It is simple for them, and one company holds the bitcoin.
- Multi-Institution Custody (Onramp). Your beneficiaries inherit through a transfer on death agreement and never touch a key. Three institutions protect the bitcoin. No one of them can lose it, move it, or use it.
Multi-Institution Custody is built for families who want to inherit without managing keys or relying on one company to protect the bitcoin.
Last checked: November 12, 2026.
Table 1: What Your Family Has to Do
| Onramp | Unchained | Casa | River | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keys or devices needed | None. Onramp clients never hold a key, a seed phrase, or a hardware wallet | At least one of the owner's keys (a seed phrase backup or hardware wallet). Unchained then co-signs | In a 3-key vault, a copy of the owner's mobile key plus the Casa Recovery Key. 5- and 6-key vaults also need a hardware key and its PIN | None |
| Documents | A certified death certificate and any documents Onramp requests, plus identity verification | TOD beneficiary: contact Unchained. Without one, the executor sends a death certificate plus letters testamentary or a short certificate | Standard and Premium plans: none, because the claim starts in the app | A death certificate, identity verification, and anything else River requires |
| Deadline or waiting period | Notify Onramp within 90 days of the death | No waiting period, per Unchained. The executor process takes "a few days to several weeks" | Standard and Premium plans: a 6-month period in which the owner can reject the claim, then 2 to 7 days. US Private Client with Enhanced Verification: a verified death certificate, with no 6-month period | No waiting period stated by River |
| Ongoing work before death | Keep beneficiaries current | Store your two keys. With the optional Inheritance Protocol, also a seed card and executor letters | You keep your own keys, and you and your recipient run health checks every 6 months | Keep beneficiaries current |
Table 2: How Legal Title Passes
| Onramp | Unchained | Casa | River | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary designation | Yes. A Transfer on Death Agreement with primary and contingent beneficiaries at set percentages | Yes, on personal vaults, with no tier required: one primary and one contingent per vault, so more heirs means more vaults. US only, not in Louisiana or US territories | No. Casa says your will or trust names who inherits | Yes. A transfer on death registration. Beneficiaries must survive the owner by 120 hours, a standard survivorship rule. A minor's share goes to a custodial or guardianship account |
| Probate | Generally avoided with a signed agreement or a funded trust | Generally avoided with a beneficiary or a trust | Casa makes no probate claim. Title passes under your will or trust | Generally avoided with a registration |
| Trusts | A trust can hold the account or be named as the beneficiary. Onramp Dynasty Trusts (irrevocable, South Dakota law, with First Covenant Trust & Advisors as trustee) for multi-generational plans. For a revocable trust, Onramp can introduce you to estate attorneys who know bitcoin | Trust vaults, plus a paid Boot Camp to set one up | Through your own will or trust | A trust can open an account and be named as the transfer on death beneficiary |
| If there is no plan | A court order appointing an executor or administrator | Letters testamentary through probate | Probate under your will, or intestacy without one | The account is suspended until a fiduciary opens one. River may require a court order |
Table 3: Custody and Cost
| Onramp | Unchained | Casa | River | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who can move the bitcoin | It takes two of three independent institutions (Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover), and nothing moves without your permission | You, with 2 of 3 keys. Unchained holds one key and can't move funds alone | You, with your keys. Casa holds a recovery key | River |
| What inheritance depends on | A signed transfer on death agreement, with Onramp running the claim. No one institution can move the bitcoin | Heirs finding and using at least one of your keys. With both keys, heirs don't need Unchained | Your recipient keeping the shared keys current, and your will or trust for title | River, as the sole custodian |
| Segregated and verifiable on-chain | Yes. It sits in its own vault, titled in your name | Yes, in your own multisig vault | Yes, in your own multisig vault | River states it keeps client bitcoin in multisig cold storage and publishes monthly proof of reserves. Its terms say bitcoin may be held in omnibus wallets |
| Cost | Inheritance is included with Onramp Core and Private. Multi-Institution Custody starts at $100 a month | $250 per vault a year. Signature, which includes inheritance setup, is $6,000 the first year and $4,500 after that. Inheritance Boot Camp is $4,000, then $4,500 a year | Inheritance is included in every plan: Standard $250 a year, Premium $2,100, Private Client $7,500 | No inheritance fee stated |
Onramp, BitGo, and CoinCover each secure a key offline, never on a consumer device, in a 2-of-3 multisig. You never hold a key yourself.
Where Each One Fits
Choose Unchained if you want to hold your own keys and sign your own transactions, and your family is ready to take over the setup. Unchained's estate resources are thorough, and its Boot Camp pairs you with a wealth advisor to set up a trust. The trade-off: even with a beneficiary named, your heirs still need one of your keys.
Choose Casa if you want self-custody with an in-app handoff for keys. In a 3-key vault, your recipient doesn't need a hardware wallet. The trade-off: Casa doesn't pass legal title, so your will or trust has to. On Standard and Premium plans, a claim also waits through a 6-month period in which the owner can reject it. US Private Client members with Enhanced Verification skip that period by sending a verified death certificate.
Choose River if you want the simplest account and you're comfortable with one company holding your bitcoin. The trade-off: one custodian holds it, possibly in pooled wallets. For how another single custodian handles it, see Coinbase Inheritance.
Choose Onramp if you want your family to inherit without keys, seed phrases, or hardware wallets, and without depending on one company. Your beneficiaries send a certified death certificate and any documents Onramp requests, then verify their identity. The bitcoin passes to them under a signed transfer on death agreement. The trade-off: you don't sign transactions with your own keys, inheritance comes with Onramp Core and Private (not Finance), Multi-Institution Custody starts at $100 a month, and a minor can only inherit through a trust.
Why the Handoff Matters Most
A bitcoin inheritance plan is tested when the bitcoin changes hands, usually to a family that is grieving, short on time, and often not technical. A plan that hands them keys asks them to find backups, use devices they may never have touched, and get every step right. Unchained makes the same point: without information passed on in advance, recovering self-custodied bitcoin can be "extremely challenging, if not impossible," which is why it built its Inheritance Protocol. For many holders, the worry is not their own security but who will take it over and whether they will get it right. A plan that hands them an account at one company avoids the keys but adds that company's risks. So ask any provider: on the worst day, what does my family actually have to do?
Self-custody and Multi-Institution Custody are different things. Self-custody gives you direct control of your keys, and it can work for inheritance when it is well documented and your heirs are ready to take it over. It also makes you, and later your heirs, responsible for every device, seed phrase, and backup, wherever they are kept. Adding devices and backups in more places spreads the risk, but it also gives your family more to find, protect, and use correctly. Multi-Institution Custody takes that off them: it takes two of three independent institutions to move the bitcoin, and no one of them can lose it, move it, or use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which bitcoin inheritance service is best?
It depends on what you want your family to deal with. If you want to keep holding your own keys, Unchained and Casa are built for that, and your heirs will handle keys. If you want the simplest account and accept one company holding the bitcoin, River fits. If you want your family to inherit without keys and without relying on one company, Multi-Institution Custody with a transfer on death agreement is built for that.
Do my heirs need my seed phrase to inherit bitcoin?
- Onramp and River: no.
- Unchained: your heirs need at least one of your keys.
- Casa: in a 3-key vault, they need a copy of your mobile key, which is shared in the app. In 5- and 6-key vaults, they also need a hardware key and its PIN.
Does Casa avoid probate?
Casa helps your recipient reach the bitcoin, but it doesn't make a legal beneficiary designation. Casa says your will or trust names who inherits. Bitcoin held only under a will generally goes through probate.
Does Unchained offer a transfer on death beneficiary?
Yes, on personal vaults: one primary and one contingent beneficiary per vault, in the US except Louisiana and US territories. The beneficiary still needs at least one of the owner's keys to access the vault.
How does River's inheritance work?
River offers a transfer on death registration. Beneficiaries open a River account, pass identity checks, and provide a death certificate. River is a single custodian. It states it keeps client bitcoin in multisig cold storage, and its terms say bitcoin may be held in omnibus wallets.
How does Onramp's inheritance work?
It is included with Onramp Core and Private. You name primary and contingent beneficiaries, set percentages, and sign a Transfer on Death Agreement. After a death, beneficiaries notify Onramp within 90 days, send a certified death certificate and any documents Onramp requests, and complete onboarding, including identity verification. See What to Do When You Inherit Bitcoin at Onramp.
To see how Onramp would handle your family's plan, schedule a consultation.
Sources (each company's own site, verified November 12, 2026):
- Unchained: unchained.com/vaults; unchained.com/estate-center; unchained.com/inheritance-boot-camp; unchained.com/pricing; unchained.com/blog/tod-beneficiaries; unchained.com/compare/unchained-vs-onramp; help.unchained.com/how-do-i-access-my-loved-ones-account; help.unchained.com/who-can-i-add-as-a-beneficiary; unchained.com/blog/unchained-inheritance-protocol
- Casa: casa.io/vault; casa.io/inheritance; casa.io/pricing; support.casa.io (inheritance FAQs for owners and recipients; how recipients request access; Enhanced Verification); docs.casa.io (inheritance)
- River: river.com/legal/terms; river.com/legal/tod; river.com/security; river.com/content/introducing-river-inheritance-your-bitcoin-estate-planning-tools-and-services
- Onramp: onrampbitcoin.com/products/inheritance; Onramp Support Center, Distributing Inheritance
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