#145 - How a Law School Nickname Became a Crypto Estate Planning Career

Kyle Shanon earned the nickname "Bitcoin Kid" in his first semester of law school, when he peppered professors with questions no one could answer: Can cryptocurrency go in a will? Is it a security? Years later, he's built a thriving niche answering exactly those questions for real clients. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, talks with Kyle about the unlikely path that took him from a directionless 3L—who put off the bar exam to chase other options—to an estate planning attorney at Crow Estate Planning and Probate, now deeply entrenched in the cryptocurrency and digital asset space. Kyle traces his fascination with Bitcoin to childhood in Tennessee, watching his father return from Iraq with foreign currency that turned out to be worthless—an early lesson in how fragile money can be. That instinct now shapes how he helps clients protect digital wealth, from securing crypto wallets to avoiding cautionary tales like the man who tossed a hard drive holding thousands of Bitcoin into a landfill. Kyle also unpacks where Bitcoin fits in a world eyeing digital currencies, translating complex financial ideas into plain-English estate planning guidance. His Lawline course, "Estate Planning and Probate for the Digital Age," has drawn over 1,000 attorneys and a 4.9-star rating. As digital assets go mainstream, Kyle's conversation offers a roadmap for attorneys who want to stay ahead of a fast-changing practice area—and proof that understanding the technology isn't optional anymore.