Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
Exchange custody
Cases in this category involve Bitcoin held on exchanges or custodial platforms. The user does not control private keys — access depends on the platform remaining operational and the account remaining accessible.
Exchange custody cases cluster around platform insolvency, account access loss, and regulatory action. Unlike self-custody failures, exchange cases often involve a recoverable path — but one that runs through legal or institutional processes that can take months or years.
512 observed cases
Blocked
135 (26%)
Constrained
181 (35%)
Survives
128 (25%)
Indeterminate
68 (13%)
Owner death — exchange custody (2016)
Exchange custody
An exchange account holder died in November 2016 whose estate included a significant BTC balance. The exchange required a court-appointed estate administrator,
Documentation absent — exchange 2016
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin-denominated reward token program run by an online marketplace announced it was discontinuing the rewards program in July 2016. Customers who had accum
Neither Bitfinex nor BitGo published a full forensic report.
Exchange custody
The Bitfinex post-hack investigation never produced a definitive public account of how the attacker obtained Bitfinex's co-signing key or circumvented BitGo's t
Passphrase unavailable — exchange 2016
Exchange custody
A user who had not accessed their exchange account since 2013 found in September 2016 that the exchange had updated its authentication system. Their old passwor
An exchange account holder died in September 2015.
Exchange custody
An exchange account holder died in September 2015. Their estate submitted a death certificate and power of attorney to the exchange's support team. The exchange
Existing New York customers found their account withdrawal and deposit functions
Exchange custody
Following the BitLicense implementation, several Bitcoin exchanges that had served New York users chose to geofence the state rather than apply for a licence. E
An estimated 2-5% of customer balances were never claimed.
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin-based remittance startup closed in September 2015 and transferred customer balances to a custodian. Several customers who had registered with only a m
A Bitcoin holder died intestate in 2015 with accounts on two exchanges.
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin holder died intestate in 2015 with accounts on two exchanges. One exchange had a documented estate access process; the other required a court order sp
The BTER cold wallet hack raised questions about the exchange's cold-storage practices.
Exchange custody
The BTER cold wallet hack raised questions about the exchange's cold-storage practices. Community members were sceptical that a properly air-gapped cold wallet
A series of Bitcoin-denominated promissory notes issued in 2013 matured in early 2015.
Exchange custody
A series of Bitcoin-denominated promissory notes issued in 2013 matured in early 2015. The notes had been issued as plain-text documents with no cryptographic s
Forced relocation — exchange custody (2015)
Exchange custody
Ukrainians in conflict-affected eastern regions in 2015 who held BTC on domestic exchanges found that the exchanges required in-person branch verification to re
A Russian court upheld the 2014 ruling classifying Bitcoin use as illegal.
Exchange custody
In March 2015 a Russian court upheld the 2014 ruling classifying Bitcoin use as illegal. Several online merchants and exchanges that had been serving Russian cu
Owner incapacity — exchange 2015
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin day trader was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric facility in March 2015 following a mental health crisis. Their exchange account contained signi
Documentation absent — exchange 2015
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin bonds platform that had been issuing bonds denominated in BTC since 2013 ceased operations in April 2015. Bond certificates had been issued as text fi
The sentencing finalised the government's forfeiture of all Bitcoin seized from
Exchange custody
On 29 May 2015 Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison for operating Silk Road. The sentencing finalised the government's forfeiture of all Bitcoin seized
Forced relocation — exchange custody (2015)
Exchange custody
During the Greek debt crisis of June–July 2015 capital controls were imposed, limiting bank withdrawals to €60/day. Several Greeks who held BTC on foreign excha
Customers who attempted to withdraw THB were informed the service was suspended
Exchange custody
The Bank of Thailand issued guidance in June 2015 reiterating that Bitcoin was not legal currency and that banks should not facilitate Bitcoin-related transacti
P2P BTC-to-euro conversion became the only avenue, with significant slippage.
Exchange custody
During the extended Greek capital controls of July 2015, Greeks who held BTC on domestic wallets or exchanges found that the government's bank holiday also froz
Physical coercion — exchange custody (2015)
Exchange custody
An August 2015 case documents a Bitcoin trader who was held at gunpoint in their home and forced to initiate an exchange withdrawal. The attackers had advance k
Documentation absent — coinbase (2015)
Exchange custody
Following the Bitcoin XT controversy, a Bitcoin exchange that had been offering 'coinbase futures'—bets on the first output of each new Bitcoin block—suspended
Documentation absent — exchange 2015
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin-denominated hedge fund that had been accepting capital since 2013 refused to provide audited financial statements to investors who requested them in S
When it wound down in October 2015, merchants received settlement statements that could
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin merchant payment processor that had handled settlements for 200 online retailers over three years failed to maintain auditable records of float balanc
Neither the invoices nor the BTC were independently verifiable.
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin-based invoice financing platform that had advanced BTC against merchant invoices collapsed in November 2015. Merchant invoices pledged as collateral w
A later court-appointed receiver found that CEO Paul Vernon had also stolen
Exchange custody
The Cryptsy collapse in December 2015 revealed that the exchange had been operating for over a year without disclosing the July 2014 hack to its users. During t
Institutional lockout — exchange custody (2015)
Exchange custody
The US Department of Justice obtained a civil asset forfeiture order in April 2015 against Bitcoin held in wallets associated with a structured-finance fraud ca