Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00611
Documentation absent — exchange custody (2018)
BlockedCase description
A Bitcoin fund manager who had raised BTC through informal agreements with friends and family lost 80% of the managed funds through undisclosed leverage trading during the January 2018 crash. The fund had no formal documentation — no accounts, no client agreements, no risk disclosures. Investors had no documented recourse and the manager was not regulated.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Documentation absent |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Blocked |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2018 |
| Country | Unknown |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Nobody had written down how to get back in. That knowledge existed only in the owner's head. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
Forum post
Evidence link
Related cases involving documentation absent
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents.
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Framework references
Where Bitcoin Custody Intersects Legal and Fiduciary Authority
Where custody creates gaps in estate planning, fiduciary duty, and professional responsibility.
Professional Scope Boundary Matrix
What each professional or product covers, what they do not, and where gaps form between them.
The Independent Assessment Layer in Bitcoin Custody
How independent diagnostic layers emerge when multiple parties depend on shared infrastructure.
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