Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00656
Owner death — QuadrigaCX (2019)
BlockedCase description
A QuadrigaCX customer died in February 2019 while the exchange was under CCAA protection. Their estate, already dealing with a personal bereavement, discovered they were also a creditor of the exchange. The estate had to engage a creditor committee process that was expected to take years. The compound loss of exchange access and death at the same time left the family in exceptional financial difficulty.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Owner death |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Blocked |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2019 |
| Country | Canada |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Before anyone could access the funds, a legal process had to be completed first. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
News article
Evidence link
Related cases involving owner death
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents.
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Framework references
Where Bitcoin Custody Intersects Legal and Fiduciary Authority
Where custody creates gaps in estate planning, fiduciary duty, and professional responsibility.
Professional Scope Boundary Matrix
What each professional or product covers, what they do not, and where gaps form between them.
The Independent Assessment Layer in Bitcoin Custody
How independent diagnostic layers emerge when multiple parties depend on shared infrastructure.
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