E250 What Does Taproot Mean for Bitcoin Estate Planning?

<p>Jimmy Song recently published a great article about <a href= "https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/taproot-vs-security-threats-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what the Taproot upgrade could be for Bitcoin estate planning</a> (<a href= "https://youtu.be/vRsMnSpjHlE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video here</a>). Taproot is the recent upgrade to the Bitcoin protocol, and we’ll do our best to outline Jimmy's article in layman’s and through the lens of an experienced executor.</p> <h2>What are scriptspends?</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-41506" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/What-are-scriptspends-300x169.jpg" alt="What are scriptspends" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>Taproot has added programmable spend instructions called scriptspends. As Jimmy writes, “Taproot essentially allows you to have as many alternative conditions for unlocking your Bitcoins as you want, making the addition of recovery options to be easy.”</p> <p>In past blogs, we’ve discussed other solutions like an emailed <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e216-bitcoins-unclaimed-property-problem/"> dead man’s switch and sharding</a> your phrase into several pieces. This upgrade potentially does away with all of that while using more elegant solutions.</p> <p>Cryptocurrency tools keep evolving for the better, and we can't wait to see ideas get developed.</p> <h2>Potential recovery options with Taproot</h2> <h3>1. Mutlisig</h3> <p>With Taproot, you can “recover your UTXOs with a 2-of-5 multisig of 5 friends that don’t know each other.”</p> <p>I am not sure how this is different from existing multisig solutions. Perhaps Taproot just makes it easier to implement a multisig? If you can enlighten me, please send me an email or comment.</p> <h3>2. 1-year time lock</h3> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-41507" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Potential-recovery-options-with-Taproot-300x169.jpg" alt="Potential recovery options with Taproot" width="300" height= "169