Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00508
A Bitcoin investor's estate in August 2017 included multiple hardware wallets.
SurvivesCase description
A Bitcoin investor's estate in August 2017 included multiple hardware wallets. The seeds for two of the devices were located. A third device had no seed documentation. The estate hired a professional recovery firm which found the wallet on the device was empty — the coins had been moved years earlier to one of the recovered wallets, but the estate did not understand this and paid recovery fees unnecessarily.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Owner death |
| Custody system | Mobile or software wallet |
| Outcome | Survives |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2017 |
| Country | Unknown |
Structural dependencies observed
Outcome interpretation
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
Forum post
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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