Umut Kundukan

Umut Kundukan is a software engineer and crypto entrepreneur best known for founding BitInPeace, a non-custodial platform that helps self-custody cryptocurrency holders prepare inheritance plans for their digital assets. Kundukan spent nearly two decades building scalable software systems before creating BitInPeace, with experience spanning payments, telecom infrastructure, airline booking systems, cloud platforms and other high-availability technology. His own 2025 writing says that concerns about what would happen to his Bitcoin if something happened to him helped motivate the project. BitInPeace focuses on inheritance planning without requiring users to hand over their private keys to a traditional custodian.

About Umut Kundukan

Umut Kundukan is a software engineer and entrepreneur who transitioned from a long career in enterprise software engineering to founding BitInPeace, a platform focused on crypto inheritance and digital legacy planning. His professional background spans payments, telecom, airline booking systems and cloud infrastructure. He is based in the Netherlands, where BitInPeace's legal entity is registered. Kundukan's work sits at the intersection of self-custody, security and long-term digital asset succession — a downstream problem created by the self-custody model that Bitcoin and Ethereum enable.

Education

Specific details about Umut Kundukan's university education, degree, field of study and dates could not be independently verified from authoritative educational records as of August 2026. Public professional profiles, including his LinkedIn headline, describe him as a software engineer with expertise in JVM, Kafka, cloud and AI platforms, but do not publicly display a specific degree or institution. This profile does not infer a Computer Science degree or any other specific qualification simply because he has worked as a software engineer.

Software Engineering Background

Kundukan has publicly described himself as a software developer with nearly 20 years of experience. In his April 2025 Medium article, he wrote: "I'm Umut Kundukan, a software developer for nearly 20 years. Most of my career has been spent building scalable systems — from payment platforms to airline booking systems to telecom infrastructure. I've always leaned toward systems that are resilient, self-healing, and designed for the long haul."

His LinkedIn profile headline identifies him as a "Lead Software Engineer | JVM | Kafka | Cloud | AI Platforms," associated with a company called TestCharm, based in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland. The exact dates of his employment and whether this represents a current parallel role or a previous position could not be independently verified from the available public sources as of August 2026. Kundukan's Medium article states that he left his corporate role to work on BitInPeace full-time.

Building Resilient Systems

Kundukan has written that he spent much of his career designing scalable, resilient and self-healing systems. The relevant engineering principles include fault tolerance, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, real-time transaction systems, availability, security, monitoring and recovery. These principles are relevant to inheritance infrastructure because the system must remain operational and secure over a long time horizon — potentially decades — while waiting for an inheritance trigger that may or may not occur. This profile does not claim that BitInPeace is failure-proof.

Payments & Telecom Experience

Kundukan's own writing confirms that his career included building payment platforms, airline booking systems and telecom infrastructure. These are high-volume, high-availability enterprise systems that require reliable transaction processing and distributed architecture. The specific employers, payment systems and exact roles could not be independently verified from primary professional records as of August 2026. This profile does not describe Kundukan as a "payments-company founder" unless verified.

Why Crypto Inheritance Became Important

Kundukan wrote in April 2025 that after turning 40, he began thinking seriously about what would happen to his Bitcoin if something happened to him. He described this as one of the motivations for building BitInPeace: "And then at some point after turning 40, I started thinking about something a bit closer to home: 'What happens to my Bitcoin if something happens to me?' This wasn't a passing thought. It kept coming back." This is attributed as a founder's personal perspective, not a factual claim about all Bitcoin holders.

What Happens to Crypto When the Owner Dies?

Self-custodied cryptocurrency can become permanently inaccessible if the owner dies or becomes incapacitated without preparing a succession plan. Key risks include: private keys being lost, seed phrases being unavailable, heirs not knowing assets exist, access instructions being unclear, and wallet security methods not being documented. Unlike conventional financial accounts, a blockchain does not contain a built-in inheritance authority that can reset ownership after death. There is no "password reset" for a Bitcoin wallet.

Founding BitInPeace

BitInPeace is operated by SmartBlue Innovations Digital Services B.V., a company registered in the Netherlands with KvK registration number 96022043. The company is associated with Hoofddorp, Noord-Holland, according to Crunchbase. Umut Kundukan is identified as the founder on both the official BitInPeace About page and Crunchbase. Kundukan's Medium article describes the founding process: "Quietly, I started building something of my own. Not a company — not at first. Just a side project born out of frustration." He later wrote: "After leaving my corporate role, I started working on the idea full-time." Crunchbase lists Kundukan as CEO and references a July 2024 date, but the exact founding date should be verified through Dutch Chamber of Commerce records.

BitInPeace Team

The BitInPeace About page lists the following team members as of August 2026: Umut Kundukan (Founder), Alper Karabatak (Strategic Finance Advisor), Erdem Tipici (Advisor/Solution Architect), Hande Kundukan (Product Delivery & QA Specialist), Erhan Erdoğan (Frontend Architect), and Sinan Asil (Lead UX/UI Designer). None of the additional team members are described as co-founders on the official BitInPeace About page or on Crunchbase.

What Is BitInPeace?

BitInPeace is a platform designed to help cryptocurrency holders create inheritance plans for self-custodied digital assets. Current product materials focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum inheritance, self-custody preservation, inactivity-triggered processes, beneficiary designation, digital legacy planning, and a Multi-inheritance feature (introduced October 2025) that allows splitting assets among multiple heirs with custom percentages. The platform's mechanism involves users connecting their wallet, setting inheritance preferences, and pre-signing a transaction that only executes if they become inactive. No funds move or lock during setup.

Non-Custodial Crypto Inheritance

BitInPeace's official documentation, Terms of Service and Privacy Policy all consistently describe a non-custodial architecture. The Terms of Service state: "Users retain full control of their private keys, and our platform operates on a trustless model to ensure user autonomy and security." The platform does not take custody of user assets, does not receive or store private keys or seed phrases, does store pre-signed transaction data, does store the user's email address for notifications, and uses Stripe for subscription payment processing.

Who Controls the Private Keys?

Based on BitInPeace's official documentation: BitInPeace does not ever receive private keys. The Privacy Policy states: "Your private keys and wallet credentials remain under your sole control and are never accessed or stored by our platform." BitInPeace does not receive seed phrases. The Terms of Service state: "BitInPeace will never request access to your private keys and cannot retrieve or reset lost keys." The platform stores pre-signed transaction data, not encrypted private keys. The core mechanism is pre-signed transactions: the user signs a transaction in their own wallet, and BitInPeace stores only the signed data for later broadcast. Clear answer: BitInPeace does not take custody of the user's seed phrase or private key at any point.

How the Inheritance Process Starts

BitInPeace uses an inactivity-triggered approach. According to the official Terms of Service, the flow works as follows: (1) User is active and periodically confirms activity; (2) If the user does not confirm activity within the set period, the inactivity countdown begins; (3) Users set their desired inactivity period, up to a maximum of 12 months; (4) Reminders and notifications are sent before the inheritance process is triggered; (5) When inactivity is confirmed after the grace period, the pre-signed transaction is broadcast; (6) The pre-signed transaction executes on-chain, delivering assets to the designated beneficiary wallets. Users can extend their inactivity duration or update their plan at any time while active.

Dead Man's Switch

BitInPeace's inactivity-triggered approach functionally resembles a "dead man's switch" — a mechanism that automatically activates a predetermined action if the operator fails to respond within a set time. However, BitInPeace's official materials do not prominently use the term "dead man's switch." The general risk with any purely automated inactivity trigger is that it can activate incorrectly if the owner is traveling, hospitalized, experiencing temporary loss of internet access, or simply forgetting to check in. BitInPeace addresses this through a user-configurable inactivity period (up to 12 months), reminders and notifications, and the ability to update or extend the plan at any time.

Beneficiary Setup

BitInPeace allows users to designate beneficiaries who will receive their digital assets. The Multi-inheritance feature (introduced October 2025) allows users to split assets among multiple heirs with custom percentages — for example, 50% to a partner and 25% to each child. Beneficiaries must have their own wallet addresses to receive the transferred assets. Users can update their plan, including beneficiary details, at any time while active. This profile does not imply that beneficiaries automatically become legal heirs under estate law.

Blockchain vs Legal Inheritance

This is a critical distinction: technical asset transfer (a blockchain transaction moving cryptocurrency to a wallet) is different from legal inheritance rights (which depend on wills, probate, estate law, marriage/property law, tax law and jurisdiction). BitInPeace is a technical tool that automates the transfer of digital assets to designated wallet addresses. It is not a replacement for a lawyer, a will, an estate plan, the probate process, or regulated estate-planning advice. The BitInPeace Terms of Service explicitly state: "BitInPeace does not provide financial, legal, or investment advice. Any information provided is for informational purposes only, and you should consult a qualified professional for advice."

Bitcoin Inheritance

BitInPeace supports Bitcoin inheritance planning with the following wallets: Ledger, Trezor, UniSat, Exodus, and Phantom. The BitInPeace blog includes tutorials demonstrating Bitcoin inheritance setup with various wallets. This profile does not assume that every Bitcoin wallet is supported — users should verify current wallet compatibility on the BitInPeace platform. The platform's pre-signed transaction model means the user signs the inheritance transaction in their own wallet.

Phantom Wallet

BitInPeace has published a tutorial showing how to set up Bitcoin inheritance using the Phantom wallet. Phantom is a multi-chain wallet that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and other networks. The integration appears to be at the wallet-connection and transaction-signing level. This profile does not describe Phantom as an official commercial partner of BitInPeace unless both companies confirm a formal partnership. Integration and tutorial support is not the same as a formal commercial partnership.

Ethereum Inheritance

BitInPeace also supports Ethereum inheritance planning. The platform's pricing page shows both Bitcoin and Ethereum icons. The pre-signed transaction model applies to Ethereum: the user signs an Ethereum transaction in their own wallet, and BitInPeace stores the signed data for later broadcast. Details about specific ERC-20 token support should be verified on the BitInPeace platform. This profile does not imply that every Ethereum token or NFT is supported unless current official documentation confirms it.

Other Assets

BitInPeace's current product materials emphasize Bitcoin and Ethereum as the primary supported networks. The About page mentions a vision to "expand into broader solutions, including DeFi protocols and emerging blockchains." However, as of August 2026, the platform's pricing page and product documentation focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum. This profile does not invent multi-chain support for Solana, stablecoins, NFTs or other EVM chains unless current official documentation confirms live support. Any additional chain support should be verified on the BitInPeace platform and clearly labeled as Live, Beta or Planned.

Smart Contracts

BitInPeace's current product model is based on pre-signed wallet transactions, not smart-contract asset control. The user signs a transaction in their own wallet, and BitInPeace stores and broadcasts the signed data when the inactivity condition is met. This is distinct from a smart-contract inheritance model where a deployed contract holds assets and releases them based on oracle or time-lock conditions. This profile does not describe BitInPeace as a "smart-contract inheritance" platform, because the primary mechanism is pre-signed transactions rather than smart-contract asset custody.

Security Architecture

BitInPeace's security architecture, as described in official documentation, includes: encrypted storage of email addresses, end-to-end encryption for data communications, multi-layered encryption for stored data, and no collection or storage of private keys, seed phrases or personal identity information. Payments are processed through Stripe, which handles payment data in compliance with PCI-DSS standards. BitInPeace does not store credit card numbers or bank details. The platform uses optional Google Analytics (GA4) for usage statistics, loaded only after user consent. This section is kept at a defensive/high level and does not expose operational details that would create unnecessary security risk.

AWS Well-Architected Review

Kundukan publicly stated that BitInPeace completed an AWS Well-Architected Framework Review with Cloudvisor. The AWS Well-Architected Framework Review (WAFR) is an architecture review based on AWS best practices across six pillars: operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization, and sustainability. It is a review process, not a security certification, independent financial audit, penetration test, or regulatory approval. BitInPeace's compliance with AWS best practices is a positive infrastructure signal, but should not be described as a formal security certification or regulatory approval.

AWS Activate

Kundukan also stated that BitInPeace participated in AWS Activate, a startup-support program that provides AWS credits, technical support and training resources to early-stage companies. AWS Activate is a benefits program, not an investment, security guarantee, or formal partnership. Participation in AWS Activate does not mean AWS endorses, invests in, or guarantees the security of BitInPeace. It provides infrastructure credits and support resources to help the company build on AWS.

Security Audits

As of August 2026, no public smart-contract audit, penetration test, SOC 2 certification, ISO 27001 certification, or bug bounty program has been identified for BitInPeace through official company documentation or public security repositories. This profile does not fabricate security certifications or audit results. If BitInPeace publishes security audit results in the future, they can be added. The absence of publicly documented security audits does not mean the platform is insecure, but users should be aware that formal third-party security verification has not been publicly documented.

Privacy & Personal Data

BitInPeace's privacy model is notably minimal. According to the official Privacy Policy, the platform does not collect or store: private keys or wallet credentials, personal identity information (first name, last name, date of birth, country of residence). The only personal information BitInPeace stores is the user's email address, used for service updates and reminders. Payment data is handled by Stripe, which may collect name, billing address and tax-related information during checkout. Optional analytics cookies (Google Analytics GA4) are used only if the user consents. Users have the right to access their data, request data deletion, and control cookie preferences.

GDPR

BitInPeace is operated by SmartBlue Innovations Digital Services B.V., registered in the Netherlands, and is therefore subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Privacy Policy addresses user rights including access, data deletion, and communication control. However, this profile does not imply that GDPR compliance is independently certified unless evidence of such certification exists. The company's Netherlands-based registration and privacy policy are consistent with GDPR obligations, but formal certification (such as an independent GDPR compliance audit) has not been publicly documented.

Legal Entity

BitInPeace is operated by SmartBlue Innovations Digital Services B.V., a company registered in the Netherlands. The KvK (Kamer van Koophandel / Chamber of Commerce) registration number is 96022043, as published on the BitInPeace Privacy Policy page. The company is associated with Hoofddorp, Noord-Holland, according to Crunchbase. The exact incorporation date and current director information should be verified through the Dutch Chamber of Commerce registry. This profile does not publish private addresses beyond what is necessary.

Regulatory Position

Based on the available documentation, BitInPeace appears to operate as a software provider rather than a crypto-asset service provider, custodian, or financial service. The platform's non-custodial model, where users retain control of their private keys and BitInPeace only stores pre-signed transaction data, is consistent with a software-as-a-service classification. No specific MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider), CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), payment institution, or custody licensing has been publicly identified for BitInPeace or SmartBlue Innovations Digital Services B.V. as of August 2026. This profile does not state "BitInPeace is regulated" unless a specific authorization from a recognized financial regulator can be verified.

Not a Custodian

BitInPeace's current architecture, as described in official documentation, is non-custodial. The platform does not take custody of users' cryptocurrency. Users retain full control of their private keys, and BitInPeace stores only pre-signed transaction data and email addresses. The platform cannot move user assets independently — it can only broadcast transactions that the user has already signed. The Terms of Service state: "BitInPeace will never request access to your private keys and cannot retrieve or reset lost keys."

Not Legal Advice

BitInPeace provides technical inheritance tools for digital assets. It should not be described as providing legal advice, tax advice, probate services, or regulated estate-planning advice unless those services are actually offered through qualified professionals. The Terms of Service explicitly state: "BitInPeace does not provide financial, legal, or investment advice. Any information provided is for informational purposes only, and you should consult a qualified professional for advice."

What Can Go Wrong With Crypto Inheritance?

Key failure scenarios include: lost seed phrase (if the owner loses access to their wallet, the pre-signed transaction may not be useful), incorrect beneficiary wallet (assets sent to a wrong address are unrecoverable), beneficiary losing keys (the beneficiary must have access to their own wallet), accidental owner inactivity (travel, hospitalization or device loss could trigger the process), phishing or email compromise (an attacker could interfere with notifications), outdated inheritance plan (beneficiary details or allocation percentages may become stale), legal disputes (technical transfer does not resolve legal inheritance questions), unsupported asset (the plan may not cover all asset types), and smart-contract or transaction bugs. BitInPeace addresses some of these through reminders, the 12-month maximum inactivity buffer, and the ability to update plans at any time, but users should understand these risks.

What If BitInPeace Stops Operating?

This is a crucial question for a product designed for long-term inheritance. If BitInPeace closes, its website disappears, servers fail, or AWS is unavailable, the continuity of inheritance plans depends on the platform's architecture. Based on the pre-signed transaction model, the signed transaction data is stored by BitInPeace. If the platform becomes unavailable, the pre-signed transaction may not be broadcast automatically. This profile does not have sufficient information from official documentation to fully describe BitInPeace's platform-continuity or disaster-recovery design. Users should inquire directly with BitInPeace about: exportability of inheritance plans, emergency procedures if the platform is discontinued, whether signed transactions can be broadcast independently, and long-term continuity guarantees. This dependency should not be hidden.

Planning for Decades, Not Months

Crypto inheritance software has an unusually long reliability horizon. Potential issues over decades include: wallet standards changing, blockchains upgrading, software companies closing, heirs changing, laws changing, and encryption formats becoming obsolete. BitInPeace's approach of using pre-signed transactions has both advantages and limitations for long-term reliability: the signed transaction is a self-contained data object, but blockchain protocol changes over decades could affect transaction validity. Users should consider how BitInPeace addresses long-term maintenance and protocol upgrades.

Pricing

BitInPeace uses a subscription-based pricing model with four tiers based on wallet balance: Tier 1 (up to 0.05 BTC) is free, Tier 2 (0.05–1.00 BTC) is $199/year, Tier 3 (1.00–10.00 BTC) is $499/year, and Tier 4 (10.00+ BTC) is $999/year. All plans include a 30-day free trial for paid tiers. Payments are processed via Stripe. Since pricing may change, users should verify current pricing on the BitInPeace website rather than relying on values embedded in this profile.

BitInPeace: Current Status

As of August 2026, BitInPeace is Active. The official website (bitinpeace.com) is live and operational. The blog shows active content publication through February 2026, including posts on address poisoning attacks and multi-inheritance features. The platform supports Bitcoin and Ethereum inheritance. New registrations appear to be open through the app at app.bitinpeace.com. The founder, Umut Kundukan, remains involved as Founder. The team page lists six members. Social activity is present on LinkedIn and YouTube. Status checked: August 2026.

What Is Umut Kundukan Working on Now?

As of August 2026, Umut Kundukan's primary public professional activity is BitInPeace, where he serves as Founder. His LinkedIn profile headline identifies him as "Lead Software Engineer | JVM | Kafka | Cloud | AI Platforms," associated with TestCharm in Amsterdam. Kundukan's Medium article states that he left his corporate role to work on BitInPeace full-time. The current status of any parallel engineering role at TestCharm or another company could not be independently verified from the available public sources as of August 2026. This profile does not assume BitInPeace is his only professional role, nor does it confirm a current parallel engineering role without verified employment dates.

Key Contributions

Why Umut Kundukan Matters in Crypto

Umut Kundukan's work matters because he is addressing a real downstream problem created by the self-custody model that Bitcoin and Ethereum enable. When users hold their own private keys, they gain financial sovereignty — but they also take on the full responsibility of succession planning. If something happens to the owner and no one else can access the keys, the assets can be permanently lost. This is not a hypothetical risk: studies and industry estimates suggest that millions of Bitcoin have been permanently lost due to inaccessible keys.

Kundukan's approach with BitInPeace is notable for preserving the self-custody principle while solving the inheritance problem. Rather than asking users to trust a custodian with their assets, BitInPeace uses pre-signed transactions that let users retain control of their keys while still preparing an automated succession plan. This is a technically elegant solution that respects the ethos of self-custody.

However, this profile does not overstate Kundukan's influence. BitInPeace is an early-stage company, and the crypto inheritance space includes other projects and approaches. Kundukan's contribution is specific: he is building a practical, non-custodial inheritance tool with a clear engineering foundation, and he is publicly advocating for awareness of the self-custody succession problem. Whether BitInPeace becomes a widely adopted solution depends on factors beyond any single founder's work.

Founder Snapshot

• Name: Umut Kundukan
• Role: Founder, BitInPeace
• Company: BitInPeace (SmartBlue Innovations Digital Services B.V.)
• Location: Netherlands
• Background: Software engineer with ~20 years of experience in payments, telecom, airline booking systems and cloud infrastructure
• Focus: Non-custodial crypto inheritance, self-custody preservation, digital legacy planning
• Notable: Pre-signed transaction inheritance model, AWS Well-Architected Review, minimal-data privacy architecture

Sources & Verification

This profile was compiled from the following primary and secondary sources, last verified in August 2026:

• BitInPeace official website — product description, pricing, wallet support
• BitInPeace About page — team members, founder identification, company mission
• BitInPeace Terms of Service — non-custodial model, inactivity period, no legal advice disclaimer
• BitInPeace Privacy Policy — KvK number, data collection practices, GDPR obligations
• Medium article by Umut Kundukan (April 2025) — founder motivation, career background, BitInPeace origin story
• Crunchbase — BitInPeace company profile — legal entity, location, CEO identification
• LinkedIn — Umut Kundukan personal profile — professional headline, location
• LinkedIn — BitInPeace company page — company social presence
• BitInPeace blog — Multi-inheritance feature announcement (October 2025)
• YouTube — BitInPeace video content

Verification notes: The founder's name, role, company, legal entity and KvK number were verified against official BitInPeace documentation. The founder's career background and motivation were verified against his own published writing on Medium. Team members were verified against the official BitInPeace About page. The exact founding date, specific education details, and current status of any parallel engineering role could not be independently verified from primary sources as of August 2026. No security audits, regulatory licenses, or formal certifications have been publicly documented for BitInPeace; this profile does not fabricate any such credentials.