The evolution of technology is constantly enriching people's life experience, but also expanding the boundaries of personal assets.

Compared with tangible assets with clear value such as houses and cars, whether digital assets such as mobile phone numbers, equipment in games, balances in various platform "wallets" and even the increasingly popular NFTs (digital collectibles) can be inherited? inherit?

Digital assets enter the homes of ordinary people

　　A mobile phone number looks like a string of numbers, but it carries rich connotations.

"Pretty numbers" with consecutive or repeated numbers can be sold at high prices. Mobile phone numbers that have been used for a long time correspond to a huge network of interpersonal relationships, points that can be redeemed for physical objects, various membership rights and other benefits, and their value is beyond doubt.

　　Similar to it are QQ accounts, game accounts, and various financial payment platform accounts.

They are either accumulated over years of use or inherently unique, with obvious value to account owners and associates alike.

　　In addition to this, the value of NFTs in the digital market is increasingly emerging.

At the beginning of this year, a fashion brand founded by a star announced the sale of the NFT project Fantasy Bear, with a limited number of 10,000 pieces and a price of 0.26 Ethereum. All of them were sold in less than 1 hour, with a total price equivalent to more than 62 million yuan.

The emergence of NFT has made the forms of valuable artworks richer and more diverse.

　　Advances in technology have driven the digitization of assets to become more and more commonplace.

"Property is usually scarce and disposable, and needs to have physical value, spiritual value or commemorative value. Although digital assets exist in the virtual world and rely on hardware such as computers and mobile phones, their value cannot be erased." Director of China Securities Law Research Association Zhang Zhipo divides existing digital assets into three categories: First, those tied to economic life, including digital payment tools such as Alipay and WeChat, and new assets such as NFT, as well as physical virtual assets, such as online stores that can generate economic benefits, etc. ; The second is leisure life, such as game coins, game equipment, etc. that require a lot of time and money to acquire, with certain property attributes; the third is social life, including QQ, e-mail, etc., which is the spiritual home of users' daily life .

Digital asset inheritance should be classified and explored

　　The forms of digital assets are constantly enriched, and whether they can be inherited or not has attracted people's attention.

After all, digital assets cannot be seen or touched, and cannot be completely owned by one person without mastering the password and obtaining network authorization.

What's more, there are a considerable number of digital assets that do not have circulation value, and are more of a spiritual sustenance for relatives to miss.

　　There is no doubt about the inheritability of digital assets with deterministic market value such as online stores, digital copyrights, and Alipay balance.

Article 127 of the Civil Code of our country stipulates: "Where the law has provisions for the protection of data and network virtual property, the provisions shall be followed." This provides room for interpretation and application of the legal protection of digital assets, including inheritance, at the legal level. .

　　There is a certain controversy about whether assets that do not have a definite market value, such as e-mails, social accounts, etc., can be inherited.

While social accounts such as QQ, WeChat, and mailbox have property value, they also carry a high degree of personal dignity such as personal privacy.

Although such digital assets have the property of property rights, the owner may not want to be known by others. At this time, the rationality and legality of inheritance are faced with challenges.

　　The inheritance of digital currencies such as NFT and Bitcoin is controversial.

NFT corresponds to a wide variety of digital artworks. If the coat of art is stripped, its properties as a non-fungible token are essentially the same as digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The key to inheritance at this time is digital The legal status of the currency.

　　Yu Jianing, co-chairman of the Blockchain Special Committee of the China Communications Industry Association and principal of Huoda Education, pointed out that there are many differences in the legal positioning of digital currency worldwide. In countries such as the United States and Canada where digital currency is legalized, it can be used as a heritage. inherit.

In my country, digital currencies such as Bitcoin do not have the same legal status as legal tender, but in some cases, they actually have the attributes of virtual goods, which can theoretically be inherited as inheritance.

　　However, in reality, there are often three obstacles: First, the legal nature of digital currency is still controversial, whether it is an online virtual property, the judicial organs in different regions have relatively large differences in the qualitative determination in judicial practice, and the uncertainty in the actual inheritance. High; second, it is difficult to accurately assess the value of digital currency. For example, most NFTs are currently issued based on the Ethereum blockchain, but the price of Ethereum is extremely volatile, which makes it impossible to accurately assess the value of inheritance; third, most digital currencies are held by Someone stored in the wallet on the chain, once the private key holder dies unexpectedly, this part of the property may "disappear" in disguise.

The inheritance of "spiritual wealth" still needs the cooperation of many parties

　　Different lawyers expressed different views on whether the inheritance of assets without a determinable market value requires legislation, but they basically agree that the issue of inheritance can be clearly agreed between the online platform and the user at the beginning of the user's use.

This can not only save the worries of disputes, but also properly choose whether to inherit or not according to the user's intention.

　　Li Pinyu, director of Jixian Law Firm, said that Internet companies and platform operators should strengthen their sense of social responsibility, devote energy and resources, and standardize management regulations on the borrowing, leasing, transfer, and inheritance of digital accounts.

The platform is obliged to assist the heirs to inherit the digital heritage in accordance with the law, and fulfill the obligations of notification, disclosure, assistance and confidentiality.

　　"With the development of science and technology, it is difficult to make it clear that online virtual property can be exhausted through legislation. The content that is not controversial can be listed in the legal clauses, and some flexible clauses can be added, so that judges, lawyers and other industry insiders can use it properly." Tianjin Tian Ye, a professor at the University's Law School, believes that if the software user agreement is clear, it will naturally help people in the industry to make a reasonable judgment on whether or not to inherit.

　　In addition, in view of the particularity of NFT and digital currency inheritance issues, Yu Jianing suggested that in the long run, it is necessary to categorize virtual network properties, and clarify key issues such as inheritance standards and valuation methods for various digital assets.

For individuals, the most important thing is to ensure that the private key or mnemonic is backed up physically, and the backup file is shared with the entrusted family members, fully informed about the acquisition and disposal of the relevant digital assets in the event of an unexpected situation.

　　In recent years, online heritage hosting services have also emerged in society.

Han Li, senior partner of Beijing Deheng (Tianjin) Law Firm, believes that the most convenient way is for users to write their account numbers and passwords into their wills, and use other carriers to back up specific content through multiple channels, so as to leave a legacy for future generations. wealth.

　　Source: "Ban Yue Tan Internal Edition" Issue 4, 2022

　　The original title "Digital Assets, Inheritance"

　　Ban Yue Tan Reporter: Mao Zhenhua and Song Rui