Legal Status and Distribution of Inherited Assets in the Form of Digital Assets (Cryptocurrency and NFTs) under Indonesian Civil Law

Abstract

The development of blockchain technology has created new forms of wealth—namely cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)—that possess significant economic value. However, Indonesia's civil law framework, particularly the Civil Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata or KUH Perdata), does not yet explicitly regulate the inheritance procedures for such digital assets. This study aims to analyze the status of digital assets as objects of civil law and the mechanisms for transferring rights over them to heirs. A normative juridical research method is employed. The findings indicate that, from a legal standpoint, cryptocurrencies and NFTs qualify as intangible movable property (onlichamelijke roerende zaken) because they possess economic value, are transferable, and are subject to exclusive control. Consequently, by operation of law, all such digital assets pass to the heirs at the moment of the testator's death, in accordance with the principle of universal succession. However, a disconnect exists between legal ownership (recht) and factual possession (bezit); heirs are often unable to exercise their rights due to the absence of access keys (private keys). This demonstrates that in the digital realm, technical control is a prerequisite for heirs to effectively exercise legal sovereignty over the inherited assets.