Martin Velev's Bitcoin Fortune Lost After Fatal Jet Crash

Martin Velev, a 36‑year‑old businessman and the only son of Bulgarian Olympic Committee head Vesela Lecheva, died in a jet crash over the Aegean Sea on 10 July. He was buried with digital assets, including more than €2 million worth of Bitcoin.

The family can transfer the crypto held on centralized exchanges Binance and Coinbase—valued at roughly €5 million—using his death certificate, but the personal hardware wallet containing about 35 BTC remains locked. No one has the 24‑word secret seed needed to unlock it, and the relatives have not prioritized locating the key, meaning the private holdings may stay inaccessible indefinitely.