A service for the transfer of digital assets to heirs will appear in Russia
Russian developers are creating a “time capsule” service using blockchain technology. It will allow digital data and assets — from social network passwords to bitcoin wallet keys — to be stored securely and passed on to heirs years later. The service will be presented at the workshop “Archipelago 2121” in Veliky Novgorod.
The project is being developed by a team from MEPhI, MGIMO and Lomonosov Moscow State University. There are more and more digital assets — cryptocurrencies, social media pages and messenger channels. So the question arises: how can digital information be preserved and passed on to heirs, for example, after 50 years?
A “time capsule” website is now being set up (a mobile app will also appear in the future), where users will be able to store data in encrypted form with the condition that it will be transferred to specific individuals after a certain period of time (not only after death, the minimum period is 6 months). It is not necessarily passwords from e-wallets and social networks, a “time capsule” can contain photos, texts, video messages to grandchildren or great-grandchildren, or coordinates of the location of valuables that you want to give as a gift.
By creating a “time capsule”, the user can send a link to it to the recipient, but the “capsule” will only open on a specified date. In order to retrieve information from it, the recipient will need to create a personal account on the service website. If one wants to give a gift in advance to a grandchild not yet born, the link can be sent to a son or daughter, but handing over the capsule as intended will depend on the level of decency of the family members.
The main objective is to ensure security and avoid data leaks. Encryption technology, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, which is now used mainly to sell digital assets, will be used, and we want to involve it in preserving them.
Data in encrypted form is planned to be stored on the Cloud and duplicated on DropBox and other sites, which, according to the developers, will have a chance of “surviving” for more than 50 years. The developers intend to raise 2 to 3 million roubles to create the project. In the first stage, a business website will appear, with no encryption, to run ads and identify potential audiences.
The sending of the first two digital capsules is expected to be free of charge for users. The developers expect to launch monetisation through the future popularity of the service, as well as additional services: for example, assistance in drawing up a will, insurance, etc. According to the developers of the time capsule, it will appeal to people who are willing to look into the future rather than the past and understand that one day they will be gone, so additional services won’t scare them off.
The project plans to launch another service — sending gifts within a certain period of time. For example, it will be possible to order delivery of flowers on a monthly or annual basis for five years. The service staff will buy and deliver the flowers to the recipient.
