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%)
The user had no access to their Bitcoin during the wait.
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Ledger user found in March 2019 that their device's firmware update had failed and bricked the device. The seed phrase was stored securely and used to restore
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin miner who had accumulated coins since 2011 had their home flooded during severe weather in September 2018. Two computers containing wallet backups wer
Laptop stolen — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder who had accumulated coins during the 2017 bull market stored their wallet on a laptop that was stolen in January 2018. The laptop was taken dur
A Bitcoin investor's home was flooded in January 2018.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor's home was flooded in January 2018. The computer hosting their wallet was submerged. While the drive was physically intact, the water had oxi
A Bitcoin investor lost their phone down a drain in April 2018.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor lost their phone down a drain in April 2018. The phone contained their primary Mycelium wallet. They did not have the 12-word seed recorded a
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A forum case from May 2018 describes a user who had stored their wallet backup on an old Android phone kept as a dedicated cold device. The phone's battery expa
The thief bypassed the phone lock using a vulnerability and accessed the Bitcoin wallet.
Mobile or software wallet
A forum case from May 2018 describes a user whose phone was stolen at a music festival. The thief bypassed the phone lock using a vulnerability and accessed the
Destroyed by lightning — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder's home was struck by lightning in June 2018, causing a power surge that destroyed multiple electronic devices including the computer hosting th
The card was less than 1cm and was swept up during a house cleaning.
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had stored a wallet backup on a micro SD card lost the card when it fell out of an adapter. The card was less than 1cm and was swept up during a hous
Device wiped during repair — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin user sent their computer to an IT repair shop in July 2018 for a hardware fault. The repair shop replaced the hard drive without the user's authorisat
Device lost — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A cryptocurrency developer's backup server was decommissioned by their hosting provider in July 2018 following non-payment stemming from a billing email going t
Device lost — Bitcoin Core (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A programmer who had kept their Bitcoin Core wallet on an encrypted external drive found in August 2018 that the encryption software had been updated and the ne
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A user who trusted cloud synchronisation for all backups found in August 2018 that their cloud provider had silently failed to sync their wallet directory for t
The ransomware encrypted the wallet file and demanded payment in Bitcoin — a payment
Mobile or software wallet
A user who maintained their wallet on an old Windows XP machine found the machine had been infected with ransomware in September 2018. The ransomware encrypted
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had stored their wallet exclusively in a browser-based wallet provider found in October 2018 that the provider had shut down without notice. The prov
Device lost — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A user whose Bitcoin wallet existed only on a work laptop had the machine confiscated by their employer during a disciplinary proceeding in November 2018. The e
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor who stored their wallet on a business laptop had the machine remotely wiped by their IT department in November 2018 after the laptop was flag
Device discarded — hardware wallet (2018)
Hardware wallet (single key)
An October 2018 case describes a user who dropped their hardware wallet behind a radiator. When the radiator was replaced by a plumber the device was not found
The parcel was lost in transit.
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Ledger Nano S user had their device mailed to a repair facility after the screen cracked. The parcel was lost in transit. The user's seed phrase was stored at
A hardware wallet user's device was destroyed in a house fire in March 2018.
Hardware wallet (single key)
A hardware wallet user's device was destroyed in a house fire in March 2018. The seed phrase had been stored in a fireproof safe at the same property. The safe
The ransom demand was payable in Bitcoin — ironically requiring Bitcoin access that
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder's home computer was encrypted by ransomware in June 2017 during the global NotPetya outbreak. The ransom demand was payable in Bitcoin — ironic
Device stolen while travelling — Trezor (2017)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A user who had stored their Trezor in a jacket pocket had the jacket stolen from a gym locker in February 2017. The thief had the device and the PIN code writte
Device lost — software wallet (2017)
Mobile or software wallet
A programmer who had mined Bitcoin in 2010 located an old hard drive in July 2017 while cleaning storage. The drive was in poor condition from years of storage.
Among items stolen was a laptop containing their only Bitcoin Core wallet.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder who had accumulated coins since 2013 had their apartment burglarised in January 2017. Among items stolen was a laptop containing their only Bit
The cloud provider terminated the VM for non-payment after billing notices were sent to
Mobile or software wallet
A software developer stored their Bitcoin Core wallet on a virtual machine hosted on a cloud provider. In February 2017 the cloud provider terminated the VM for
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