Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
Hardware wallet (single key)
Cases in this category involve single-key hardware wallets. The device holds the private key offline. Recovery depends entirely on whether an independent seed phrase backup exists.
Hardware wallets appear in a large share of device-loss cases. The device itself is replaceable — the seed phrase restores access to any compatible wallet. Cases that resulted in blocked access share a common factor: no seed phrase backup existed, or the backup was stored with the device and lost alongside it.
274 observed cases
Blocked
100 (36%)
Constrained
45 (16%)
Survives
86 (31%)
Indeterminate
43 (16%)
The user had no secondary backup and faced permanent loss of access to a hardware
Hardware wallet (single key)
A case handled by a crypto recovery firm in 2022 involved a user who had stored their seed phrase backup in a safety deposit box at a bank that subsequently mer
Device discarded — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Chainalysis estimated in a 2022 report that approximately 3.7 million Bitcoin—roughly 17% of the total supply—was permanently lost, with owner death being one o
Device discarded — FTX (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A first-time hardware wallet user who migrated from Coinbase in November 2022—following the FTX collapse—set up a Ledger and transferred approximately 2 BTC. Da
Estate access failure — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A 2022 case cited in estate planning literature involved an executor who discovered after appointment that the deceased had held Bitcoin but had never created a
Owner death — Trezor (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A 2022 case widely referenced in estate planning circles involved a man who had accumulated significant Bitcoin between 2015 and 2020 and died suddenly without
Physical coercion — hardware wallet — United States 2022
Hardware wallet (single key)
In September 2022, what investigators described as the first in a series of suburban home invasions targeting cryptocurrency holders occurred in the United Stat
Device lost — hardware wallet 2022
Hardware wallet (single key)
A documented pattern in 2022 hardware wallet support cases involved users who had correctly recorded their seed phrase, lost or damaged the device, and successf
Texas, New Jersey, and Vermont all took regulatory action in November 2022
Hardware wallet (single key)
Following FTX's collapse, several US state regulators issued emergency cease-and-desist orders against crypto lenders and exchanges with a US nexus. Texas, New
Passphrase unavailable — hardware wallet 2022
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Trezor Model T user reported on the Trezor forum in early 2022 that a passphrase which had worked reliably for over a year had suddenly stopped producing the
In 2022, attempting to use the key produced errors.
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Bitcoin holder who had purchased BTC in 2017 through a peer-to-peer sale had never created a formal wallet—the private key was a manually typed string they ha
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
According to Jameson Lopp's physical bitcoin attacks database, 2022 saw at least 15 documented physical attacks targeting Bitcoin holders globally, including ki
Passphrase unavailable — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A documented pattern in 2022 hardware wallet recovery cases involved users who had set BIP39 passphrases years earlier and had either forgotten the exact string
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
An Australian Bitcoin holder was subjected to a home invasion in mid-2022 in which attackers who had identified him as a cryptocurrency holder through his onlin
Documentation absent — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Estate professionals in 2022 continued to document cases where the deceased had not included Bitcoin in their will, despite the asset being their largest holdin
Hidden wallet discovered — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A case highlighted in 2022 estate planning guidance involved a Bitcoin holder who suffered a sudden stroke and was left in a long-term care facility with severe
Forced relocation — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Ukrainian residents who fled the Russian invasion in February and March 2022 faced acute custody stress when their Bitcoin hardware wallets were left behind, st
Documentation absent — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A UK-based executor in 2022 found a Ledger hardware device among a deceased's belongings but no seed phrase. The executor also found a handwritten note that app
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A 2022 incident recorded in Jameson Lopp's physical bitcoin attacks database involved a crypto holder in the Netherlands who was followed home from a Bitcoin AT
Owner death — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A New Mexico estate planning attorney described in 2022 the case of a cryptocurrency investor who died in an accident at age 33 with an estimated $60 million in
Device lost — hardware wallet (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Ledger Nano hardware wallet was lost in transit during international shipping in early 2022. The owner had the seed phrase and was able to restore the wallet
Passphrase unavailable — Trezor (2022)
Hardware wallet (single key)
KeychainX documented in early 2022 that Trezor passphrase recovery cases had become their most common hardware wallet engagement type. The firm's custom GPU-acc
Their employer terminated their access and had security escort them from the building
Hardware wallet (single key)
A user had stored their hardware wallet in a fireproof lockbox at their office. In December 2021 their employer terminated their access and had security escort
Seed unavailable — hardware wallet (2021)
Hardware wallet (single key)
A hardware wallet user whose device required seed recovery after a PIN lockout in February 2021 found their seed was stored in a sealed letter given to a solici
Seed unavailable — hardware wallet (2021)
Hardware wallet (single key)
An April 2021 estate case describes a deceased who had stored their hardware wallet seed with their estate attorney. The attorney had retired in 2019. The retir
The attacker used the captured PIN to drain the wallet remotely.
Hardware wallet (single key)
A Ledger user found in March 2021 that their hardware wallet had been targeted by a supply-chain attack. The device received had been modified before delivery t
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