I recently came across a pretty interesting topic. Divorce lawyer James Sexton has been practicing for 26 years and has handled thousands of cases. Some of his observations are really worth pondering.

Many people think that marriage breakdown is due to money, but that's not quite right. He says that money itself isn't the root cause, but emotional disconnection is. Money symbolizes security and control for people, but that's not the whole story of marriage. Statistics show that financial difficulties are indeed harmful to marriage, but conversely, the divorce rate among ultra-rich individuals is actually higher—because when you have $500 million, splitting off $250 million still leaves you comfortable, so there's less motivation to work on the marriage. That logic is pretty eye-opening.

He mentioned how successful partners manage money. There's no one-size-fits-all model, but the core is honest communication and a sense of security. Some like earning money but dislike managing accounts, so they leave it to their partner—there's nothing wrong with that. But even if you don't understand investing, you should know the basics just in case. He especially emphasized that prenuptial agreements are basically a set of game rules. Now, because the younger generation has more assets and higher education levels, signing prenups has become very normal and pragmatic.

Now for the most interesting part—cryptocurrency. James said he attended a computer summer camp back in 1984 and was interested in technology, so he started researching Bitcoin and blockchain very early. While other lawyers still didn't understand what cryptocurrency was, he was already thinking about how to track these assets. Due to the anonymity and decentralization of cryptocurrencies, many early on used them to hide assets that needed to be divided in divorce.

This is also why New York State only decided to officially include cryptocurrencies in divorce net worth affidavits starting in 2026. Before that, they were listed under "Other," essentially a placeholder. Now, full financial disclosure is required to determine how to divide assets. He mentioned a real case: a Bitcoin enthusiast preferred to give other assets to his wife but keep his Bitcoin. At the start of the divorce, his Bitcoin was worth over $100k, later dropped to over $60k, and he ended up with a big advantage.

But the problem is, many people lie. Some claim they lost their hardware wallet password and turned their cryptocurrency into "bricks," but in reality, they could recover it. Because spouses and lawyers often don't understand Bitcoin, knowledgeable people can take huge advantage. So, as lawyers, you must keep learning new things and understand how cryptocurrencies work.

He also talked about ways to repair a marriage. It doesn't require grand gestures—it's about "small acts of reconnecting." Leaving a note in the morning, sending a text saying you thought of them, giving your partner a sincere compliment—these cost nothing but mean a lot. Constructive criticism is important, but constantly affirming and emphasizing the positive is more effective than direct criticism. Love is a verb, expressed in daily details.

After hearing all this, it feels like managing a marriage and managing assets are actually quite similar. Transparent communication, maintaining appropriate privacy, understanding each other's needs, continuously learning new knowledge—these principles also apply to managing cryptocurrency assets. Especially now that cryptocurrencies have become officially divisible assets, the gap between knowledgeable and unknowledgeable parties can be significant. If you're interested, check out the asset management tools on Gate; they might help you better understand the role of cryptocurrencies in modern financial planning.