CustodyStress
Archive › Forced relocation
Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00105

Forced relocation — software wallet (2014)

Survives
Case description
A Bitcoin holder who was detained at a border crossing in 2014 had their mobile phone seized as part of an investigation. The phone contained the only copy of their Mycelium wallet private key (the seed had not been written down). The phone remained in evidence custody for six months before being returned.
Custody context
Stress conditionForced relocation
Custody systemMobile or software wallet
OutcomeSurvives
DocumentationUnknown
Year observed2014
CountryUnknown
Structural dependencies observed
Legal process requiredHardware device required
Outcome interpretation
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
Forum post
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91 cases involve forced relocation 572 cases involve mobile or software wallet View archive statistics →
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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.