Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00421
Owner death — software wallet 2017
BlockedCase description
An estate case from December 2017 involved a deceased whose will listed 'digital assets including Bitcoin' without specifying where they were held. The estate spent months searching devices before discovering the coins were in a web wallet hosted by a company that had shut down two years prior. The web wallet company's closure had not been publicised widely.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Owner death |
| Custody system | Mobile or software wallet |
| Outcome | Blocked |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2017 |
| Country | Unknown |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
There was only one way in. When that path was gone, so was access. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not 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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