A Bitcoin miner who died in May 2018 had accumulated coins since 2010.

Indeterminate

Case description

A Bitcoin miner who died in May 2018 had accumulated coins since 2010. The estate found an old hard drive that blockchain analysis suggested had a wallet with significant holdings. The drive was in working condition but the wallet was encrypted. Multiple password combinations derived from the deceased's personal history failed. Professional recovery was ongoing at the end of 2018.

Custody context

Stress condition	Owner death
Custody system	Mobile or software wallet
Outcome	Indeterminate
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2018
Country	Unknown

Structural dependencies observed

Single point of failureUndocumented procedure

What this illustrates

There was only one way in. When that path was gone, so was access. It's not clear whether anyone ever regained access.

Outcome interpretation

Not enough information is available to determine the outcome.

Source

Publicly Reported

Evidence type

Forum post

Evidence link

https://medium.com/@wayne_huang/rsa-2015-panel-bitcoin-s-future-threats-expert-s-roundtable-based-on-150-case-studies-92cc35e68e30

Related cases involving owner death

119 cases involve owner death 572 cases involve mobile or software wallet View archive statistics →

This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents. Submit a case

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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.