Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
Device loss
Cases in this category involve devices that were lost, destroyed, or otherwise became inaccessible. Where no independent recovery path — seed phrase, wallet backup, or documented recovery procedure — existed, access could not be recovered.
Device loss is one of the most common Bitcoin custody stress conditions in this archive. Across observed cases, the outcome depends primarily on whether an independent recovery path existed at the time of loss. Where a seed phrase or wallet backup was stored separately from the device, custody typically survived the loss event. Where no independent backup existed, access was permanently blocked.
188 observed cases
Blocked
133 (71%)
Constrained
5 (3%)
Survives
49 (26%)
Indeterminate
1 (1%)
However, they also discovered the thief had attempted to access the stolen Ledger
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Ledger user whose device was stolen during a robbery in May 2021 found their seed was in a fireproof document pouch in their home. They recovered the wallet t
Device lost — software wallet 2021
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had purchased Bitcoin during the April 2021 ATH discovered in July 2021 that their old desktop PC, which they had given to a relative, still containe
When the MacBook's SSD failed, the wallet was unrecoverable from iCloud.
Mobile or software wallet
A user found in August 2021 that their old MacBook had failed to iCloud-backup the wallet app's data folder because the folder had been inadvertently added to t
Among items taken was a USB drive containing a wallet backup.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder's apartment was burgled in February 2021. Among items taken was a USB drive containing a wallet backup. The USB was separately stored from the
The surge damaged both the laptop and two USB drives connected to the hub.
Mobile or software wallet
A developer's laptop was struck by lightning via a connected USB hub in July 2021. The surge damaged both the laptop and two USB drives connected to the hub. Bo
Device lost — software wallet 2021
Mobile or software wallet
A user found their old Android phone — stored as a cold wallet — had been formatted by Google's security policies after 24 months of inactivity. They had not en
Device lost — software wallet 2021
Mobile or software wallet
A user's old Samsung phone, kept solely as a cold wallet device, was accidentally put through a laundry cycle in October 2021. The phone was non-functional. The
Device lost — software wallet 2021
Mobile or software wallet
A user found in April 2021 during the BTC price peak that their old wallet, created in 2014, was on a hard drive they had been unable to locate. The hard drive
The RAID rebuild corrupted the volume and the wallet file was among the corrupted data.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor's NAS device suffered a RAID failure in June 2021. The RAID rebuild corrupted the volume and the wallet file was among the corrupted data. Fo
A Bitcoin holder's home was flooded during extreme weather events in August 2021.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder's home was flooded during extreme weather events in August 2021. Their hardware wallet and seed phrase were both stored near the floor in a dra
Their seed phrase was stored separately and used to recover funds to a new device
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Trezor owner's device was damaged when their bag was left in direct sunlight in a car during a heat wave in September 2021. The display was non-functional and
A Bitcoin investor's house was destroyed by a wildfire in October 2020.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor's house was destroyed by a wildfire in October 2020. Multiple devices containing backups were destroyed. The user's seed phrase had been stor
The provider's terms allowed deletion of inactive images after 12 months.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin programmer found in February 2020 that the virtual machine image they had been using as an air-gapped wallet environment had been permanently deleted
Device lost — software wallet 2020
Mobile or software wallet
A user found in April 2020 during COVID lockdown that their old computer — on which their Bitcoin wallet resided — had been thrown away by a family member doing
Device lost — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin trader's laptop was destroyed when coffee was spilled on it in May 2020 during a home-working setup. The hard drive was not recoverable. The wallet's
A forensics lab charged $2,500 but could not recover the specific file.
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had stored their wallet on an old phone set aside as a cold device found in June 2020 that the phone's storage had developed bad sectors due to age a
Device lost — software wallet 2020
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin miner found their desktop computer non-functional in July 2020 after a power supply failure. The hard drive was intact but the wallet file was on an e
Device lost — Ledger Nano X (2020)
Hardware wallet (single key)
During a home move in March 2020, a Ledger Nano X was packed in a box that was subsequently lost by the removals company. The removals company confirmed the box
Device lost — software wallet 2020
Mobile or software wallet
A user found in August 2020 that their old Android phone — kept as a dedicated cold wallet device — had been reset to factory defaults by Android's automatic de
The wallet had no PIN and was drained within an hour.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin user left their phone at a petrol station in September 2020. By the time they returned to retrieve it someone had taken it. The phone contained their
Hidden wallet discovered — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
A programmer's old hard drive from 2012 was found to contain a Bitcoin wallet when they reviewed old backups in July 2020. The drive was functional but the part
Device lost — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin user's Raspberry Pi cold storage setup was destroyed in October 2020 when the Pi overheated and caused a small fire that destroyed the device and the
The company's MDM software had classified the folder as potentially containing
Mobile or software wallet
A user found in November 2020 that a cloud storage folder containing their wallet file had been deleted by their employer's IT department during a remote device
Device lost — hardware wallet 2020
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Trezor user discovered in November 2020 that their device had been replaced by a fake in the retail packaging they had purchased. The counterfeit device had a
The laptop contained an active Electrum wallet session.
Mobile or software wallet
A December 2020 case describes a cryptocurrency researcher whose laptop bag was snatched from a café. The laptop contained an active Electrum wallet session. Th
Translate