Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00084
Thousands of FTC complaints had been filed against Butterfly Labs for undelivered ASIC
ConstrainedCase description
By September 2013 thousands of FTC complaints had been filed against Butterfly Labs for undelivered ASIC miners. The company had no documented refund policy, no published delivery timeline per order, and no escrow arrangement for the BTC pre-payments it had collected. Customers had no documented basis for calculating their expected delivery date or refund entitlement.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Documentation absent |
| Custody system | Unknown custody system |
| Outcome | Constrained |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2013 |
| Country | United States |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Nobody had written down how to get back in. That knowledge existed only in the owner's head. Whether full access was ultimately possible is unclear, but significant delay or outside intervention was involved.
Outcome interpretation
Access remained possible, but only with delay, dependence, or significant difficulty.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
News article
Related cases involving documentation absent
193 cases involve documentation absent
20 cases involve unknown custody system
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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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