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Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents

Multisig quorum failure

Cases in this category involve multisig arrangements where the required number of signers was not available to authorize a transaction.

Multisig quorum failures arise when the signing threshold cannot be reached due to key holder unavailability, not due to key loss. Cases span personal inheritance setups, corporate treasury arrangements, and protocol-level governance structures. The common pattern is a quorum requirement designed for security that becomes a coordination barrier when key holders are unavailable, unresponsive, or in dispute.

77 observed cases
Blocked
5 (6%)
Constrained
7 (9%)
Survives
56 (73%)
Indeterminate
9 (12%)
Multisig quorum failure — software wallet (2013)
Mobile or software wallet
Indeterminate 2013
An early experiment with Bitcoin multisig in 2013 used a 2-of-3 configuration shared between three parties in different countries. One key holder became unconta
Device stolen — 2-of-3 multisig (2013)
Mobile or software wallet
Indeterminate 2013
An early Bitcoin investment cooperative in 2013 implemented a 2-of-3 multisig arrangement across three geographically distributed members. One member disappeare
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Other stress categories
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.
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