Everything is going digital. From NFTs to cryptocurrencies, people have invested their life savings. But have you ever thought about what will happen to those digital assets when the owner dies? A patent from Tencent suggests that a new heir system for digital assets. Let’s check this digital inheritance patent by Tencent out.
For those unaware, Tencent and Alibaba are the top 2 internet companies in China. You might only know Tencent for PUBG. But there’s a lot more for Tencent. Tencent owns a 40% stake in Epic Games as well as owns 93% of Riot Games. One of the most popular Tencent apps in China is WeChat. WeChat Pay is used for easy payments in China, just like we do globally with Google Pay.
Tencent’s digital inheritance patent
WeChat Pay has millions of users in the country. To make the digital platform transparent, the company has come with a patent. Users will be able to transfer their inheritance to the name of the responding heir. So how does it work? Well, the user will have to add their will to the account. There will be digital asset vouchers that will be safely transferred to the heirs automatically.
This is not a small step. It requires proper law and hence it has been in the works for years. According to Qicha App, Tencent Technology obtained the patent authorization under “Information Processing Methods and Related Devices in the Inheritance and Transfer of Digital Asset Certificates” with the announcement number CN110245940B. The application date is March 2019 while the patent surfaced online recently.
Currently, digital inheritance is not practiced by global companies. Amazon can shut down the account of a dead user, but there isn’t a law for digital inheritance. However, with a current peak of NFTs and cryptocurrency, it won’t be a surprise to see companies implementing digital inheritance. Let us know your opinions on Tencent’s digital inheritance patent in the comments section below!
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