Willchain: Decentralized, Privacy-Preserving, Self-Executing, Digital Wills

TL;DR

Willchain introduces a decentralized, privacy-preserving blockchain protocol for digital estate planning that enables secure, self-executing digital wills across heterogeneous chains with enhanced cryptographic privacy and user interaction features.

Contribution

This work develops a layer-1 protocol with interchain communication, modern cryptographic primitives, and a user-friendly model, advancing digital inheritance technology beyond previous Solidity-based prototypes.

Findings

Implemented a multi-chain protocol with cryptographic privacy features

Demonstrated secure, fair distribution of digital assets without fund transfer

Extended the system with user interaction and account abstraction mechanisms

Abstract

This work presents a novel decentralized protocol for digital estate planning that integrates advances distributed computing, and cryptography. The original proof-of-concept was constructed using purely solidity contracts. Since then, we have enhanced the implementation into a layer-1 protocol that uses modern interchain communication to connect several heterogeneous chain types. A key contribution of this research is the implementation of several modern cryptographic primitives to support various forms of claims for information validation. These primitives introduce an unmatched level of privacy to the process of digital inheritance. We also demonstrate on a set of heterogeneous smart contracts, following the same spec, on each chain to serve as entry points, gateways, or bridge contracts that are invoked via a path from the will module on our protocol, to the contract. This ensures a fair and secure distribution of digital assets in accordance with the wishes of the decedent without the requirement of moving their funds. This research further extends its innovations with a user interaction model, featuring a check-in system and account abstraction process, which enhances flexibility and user-friendliness without compromising on security. By developing a dedicated permissionless blockchain that is secured by a network of validators, and interchain relayers, the proposed protocol signifies a transformation in the digital estate planning industry and illustrates the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing traditional legal and personal spheres. Implementing a cryptoeconomic network at the core of inheritance planning allows for unique incentive compatible economic mechanisms to be constructed.