CustodyStress
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Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00062

Documentation absent — unknown (2013)

Blocked
Case description
Several small Bitcoin mining pools that operated in 2012 and early 2013 ceased operations in 2013 without notice. Pool operators who held unpaid miner balances in hot wallets either disappeared or were unreachable. The absence of any documented payout schedule or reserve policy left miners without recourse.
Custody context
Stress conditionDocumentation absent
Custody systemUnknown custody system
OutcomeBlocked
DocumentationUnknown
Year observed2013
CountryUnknown
Structural dependencies observed
Undocumented procedureSingle point of failure
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
Related cases involving documentation absent
193 cases involve documentation absent 20 cases involve unknown custody system View archive statistics →
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents. Submit a case
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Framework references
Terms guide
Survives
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Constrained
Access remained possible, but only with delay, dependence, or significant difficulty.
Blocked
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Indeterminate
There was not enough information to determine the outcome.
Single-person knowledge
Recovery depended on information or capability held by one individual who was unavailable.
Institutional dependence
Recovery depended on a third-party institution or service that was inaccessible or uncooperative.
Documentation gap
Recovery depended on instructions that were missing, incomplete, or unclear.
Authority mismatch
The person with legal authority to act did not have operational access, or vice versa.
Original text
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