Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
Mobile or software wallet
Cases in this category involve mobile apps and desktop software wallets. Recovery depends entirely on whether a seed phrase backup was made and stored independently of the device.
Mobile and software wallets are the most frequently observed custody system in this archive, reflecting their widespread use. The structural risk is consistent: where a seed phrase backup was created and stored independently of the device, recovery was possible. Where no backup existed, loss of the device meant permanent loss of access.
572 observed cases
Blocked
405 (71%)
Constrained
44 (8%)
Survives
118 (21%)
Indeterminate
5 (1%)
Multisig quorum failure — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A January 2019 case describes a venture fund's 3-of-5 Bitcoin multisig treasury where two key holders left the fund in a contentious departure. The departed key
Estate access failure — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A January 2019 probate case involved an early Bitcoin adopter whose estate included a collection of paper wallets. Three of the wallets were in good condition a
Multisig quorum failure — 3-of-5 multisig (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin fund using a 3-of-5 multisig treasury lost access to a quorum when two key holders were arrested in an unrelated regulatory sweep in February 2019. Wi
Device lost — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder's tablet, used exclusively for cold wallet access, was confiscated in May 2019 by police in connection with a neighbour's criminal investigatio
Multisig quorum failure — 2-of-3 multisig (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A cryptocurrency startup's 2-of-3 multisig treasury failed in May 2019 when the startup's CTO, who held one key, refused to cooperate after a contractual disput
Owner incapacity — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
An August 2019 case describes a Bitcoin holder undergoing chemotherapy whose cognitive function was temporarily impaired by treatment. During a treatment period
Documentation absent — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
An October 2019 estate case involved a living but cognitively impaired person whose family sought access to their Bitcoin holdings. The person had accumulated c
Multisig quorum failure — 2-of-3 multisig (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A November 2019 forum case describes a three-person Bitcoin partnership in a 2-of-3 multisig. One partner's signing device was destroyed in a natural disaster.
Upon recovery they could recall most but not all 24 words.
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had memorised their seed phrase was involved in a serious accident in March 2019 resulting in temporary amnesia. Upon recovery they could recall most
The attackers transferred 2.5 BTC before leaving.
Mobile or software wallet
A Dutch Bitcoin trader was attacked in March 2019 by individuals who had obtained their home address from a data breach. The attackers posed as a courier servic
Seed unavailable — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
An August 2019 case describes a user who photographed each word of their seed phrase separately and stored the photos in a shared cloud album. The album was acc
Passphrase unavailable — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A July 2019 forum post describes a user whose wallet passphrase was the model number of a piece of equipment they had owned in 2013. The equipment was sold and
Seed phrase unavailable — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A user stored their seed phrase in a safety deposit box in a bank branch that was subsequently closed by the bank in October 2018 as part of a branch consolidat
Turkey's lira suffered a severe currency crisis in August-September 2018.
Mobile or software wallet
Turkey's lira suffered a severe currency crisis in August-September 2018. Bitcoin demand surged as Turks sought inflation hedges. Turkish exchanges experienced
Device lost — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin miner who had accumulated coins since 2011 had their home flooded during severe weather in September 2018. Two computers containing wallet backups wer
Laptop stolen — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder who had accumulated coins during the 2017 bull market stored their wallet on a laptop that was stolen in January 2018. The laptop was taken dur
A Bitcoin investor's home was flooded in January 2018.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor's home was flooded in January 2018. The computer hosting their wallet was submerged. While the drive was physically intact, the water had oxi
Hidden wallet discovered — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A long-time Bitcoin holder who had last accessed their wallet in December 2017 — at the peak of the bull market — found in January 2018 that they could not reca
The combined theft exceeded 5 BTC before the employee could report the swap to
Mobile or software wallet
A cryptocurrency exchange employee was SIM-swapped in February 2018 by attackers who had obtained their personal information from a data breach. The attackers u
Owner death — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
An estate attorney described a February 2018 case where the deceased had left a hardware wallet in a desk drawer with a sticky note reading 'the password is in
Neither could be certain which convention they had used when setting the passphrase in
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor who had used their wedding anniversary date in an unusual order as their passphrase found in February 2018 that they and their spouse remembe
Passphrase unavailable — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A user who had set their wallet passphrase to their student ID number from a university they attended in 2011 found in February 2018 that the university's recor
Physical coercion — software wallet (2018)
Mobile or software wallet
A cryptocurrency exchange employee was targeted in March 2018 by an attacker who had social-engineered their personal email access. The attacker used the email
Passphrase unavailable — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A forum case from March 2018 describes a user who had used a combination of a deceased parent's maiden name and a childhood phone number as their passphrase. Th
Passphrase unavailable — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
A user whose wallet passphrase was the name of their childhood home combined with a year found in March 2018 that the street had been renamed in a local governm
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