CustodyStress
Archive › Multisig quorum failure
Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00096

A 2-of-2 arrangement offered no resilience against single key loss, unlike a 2-of-3

Survives
Case description
A Bitcoin business that stored treasury in a 2-of-2 multisig arrangement suffered a key loss when one partner's computer was damaged. The remaining partner held their key but without both keys, no transactions could be signed. A 2-of-2 arrangement offered no resilience against single key loss, unlike a 2-of-3 setup.
Custody context
Stress conditionMultisig quorum failure
Custody systemMobile or software wallet
OutcomeSurvives
DocumentationUnknown
Year observed2014
CountryUnknown
Structural dependencies observed
Single point of failureHardware device required
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.