CustodyStress
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Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00648

Multisig quorum failure — 2-of-3 multisig (2019)

Survives
Case description
A June 2019 case describes a 2-of-3 multisig Bitcoin custody arrangement for a small family office where one key holder's spouse died and the key holder entered a period of bereavement-related incapacity. The other two key holders had a quorum but felt they could not proceed without the incapacitated member's consent on distributions that would affect the bereaved party's interests.
Custody context
Stress conditionMultisig quorum failure
Custody systemExchange custody
OutcomeSurvives
DocumentationUnknown
Year observed2019
CountryUnknown
Structural dependencies observed
Institutional cooperation requiredSingle point of failure
Outcome interpretation
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
Forum post
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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.