Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
Owner death
Cases in this category involve Bitcoin held by an owner who has since died. Access depended on recovery procedures, documentation, or designated individuals who were either unavailable or unaware of their role.
Owner death cases reveal the gap between legal inheritance and operational custody access. In most cases, heirs have clear legal entitlement to the Bitcoin but lack the operational knowledge required to execute recovery. The custody system functions as designed — it simply was not designed to be operated by anyone other than the original owner.
119 observed cases
Blocked
51 (43%)
Constrained
24 (20%)
Survives
38 (32%)
Indeterminate
6 (5%)
A Coinbase customer died in September 2021.
Exchange custody
A Coinbase customer died in September 2021. Coinbase's estate process required a government-issued death certificate, proof of executorship, and an affidavit of
The solicitor's office had relocated during COVID lockdowns and had not updated their
Mobile or software wallet
An estate attorney documented an August 2020 case in which the deceased had created an elaborate multi-step access system for their Bitcoin involving a safe, an
Owner death — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
An estate case from August 2020 involved a Bitcoin holder who had created a hardware wallet during the 2020 halving and died unexpectedly five months later. The
Owner death — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin holder died in July 2020 leaving a will that stated 'my Bitcoin is in the blue Ledger device.' The estate found two Ledger devices — one blue-coloured
Gox rehabilitation creditor who had been waiting since 2014 died in October 2020.
Exchange custody
A Mt. Gox rehabilitation creditor who had been waiting since 2014 died in October 2020. The estate had to demonstrate that the deceased had been a legitimate Go
Estate access failure — software wallet (2020)
Mobile or software wallet
A November 2020 probate case involved a deceased who had used Bitcoin as their primary savings vehicle. The will directed Bitcoin to specific heirs but gave no
Estate access failure — exchange custody (2020)
Exchange custody
A December 2020 estate case involved a deceased who had accumulated significant Bitcoin holdings during the year's bull run. The will was clear about the Bitcoi
An early Bitcoin adopter died from COVID-19 in March 2020.
Mobile or software wallet
An early Bitcoin adopter died from COVID-19 in March 2020. The estate found nine paper wallets of varying ages. Six were empty (funds spent years earlier). Two
A Bitcoin holder died from COVID-19 in April 2020.
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin holder died from COVID-19 in April 2020. The estate discovered BTC holdings on three exchanges. Two exchanges responded to the executor's requests wit
A Bitcoin miner who died in April 2020 from COVID-19 had accumulated coins since 2011.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin miner who died in April 2020 from COVID-19 had accumulated coins since 2011. The estate found six old computers. Blockchain forensics linked three to
A Bitcoin investor died in May 2020.
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin investor died in May 2020. The estate found a note that read 'Bitcoin on Bitfinex — login in safe.' The safe contained a username but no password. Bit
A June 2020 estate case involved an account holder at Kraken who had died.
Exchange custody
A June 2020 estate case involved an account holder at Kraken who had died. Kraken required a death certificate, apostilled will, certified copy of the grant of
A Bitcoin investor died in July 2019 having purchased significant amounts in 2017–2018.
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor died in July 2019 having purchased significant amounts in 2017–2018. Their will mentioned 'digital currency' but the executor — an accountant
No other person at QuadrigaCX had access credentials to the exchange's operational
Exchange custody
The E&Y report confirmed that Gerald Cotten had personally controlled all exchange functions and had operated without any documented succession plan. No other p
Owner death — software wallet 2019
Mobile or software wallet
An estate attorney documented an April 2019 case where the deceased had purchased Bitcoin during the 2017 bull run specifically for their grandchildren's inheri
Estate access failure — Coinbase (2019)
Exchange custody
A Bitcoin holder died in June 2019 leaving a Coinbase account with a substantial balance. The estate's executor was located in a different country and needed to
Owner death — software wallet 2019
Mobile or software wallet
A Bitcoin investor died in August 2019 with a will that described 'cryptocurrency assets' without specifying the location or access method. The estate hired a b
Gox rehabilitation creditor died in October 2019.
Exchange custody
A Mt. Gox rehabilitation creditor died in October 2019. The estate's executor found that the claim deadline for the rehabilitation proceeding had passed while p
Estate access failure — software wallet (2019)
Mobile or software wallet
A January 2019 probate case involved an early Bitcoin adopter whose estate included a collection of paper wallets. Three of the wallets were in good condition a
Owner death — QuadrigaCX (2019)
Exchange custody
A QuadrigaCX customer died in February 2019 while the exchange was under CCAA protection. Their estate, already dealing with a personal bereavement, discovered
Estate access failure — exchange custody (2019)
Exchange custody
A May 2019 estate case involved a deceased who had purchased Bitcoin through a business and held it in a corporate account. The estate had to navigate both prob
Estate access failure — exchange custody (2019)
Exchange custody
A November 2019 estate case involved a deceased who had used their Bitcoin exchange account as a primary savings vehicle. The exchange required proof that the d
A Bitfinex account holder died in November 2018.
Exchange custody
A Bitfinex account holder died in November 2018. Their estate found the account had a significant BTC balance. The exchange required a court order specifically
A Bitstamp account holder died in August 2018.
Exchange custody
A Bitstamp account holder died in August 2018. The estate executor contacted Bitstamp and was informed that account transfers required a court order, apostilled
Owner death — software wallet 2018
Mobile or software wallet
An estate attorney described a February 2018 case where the deceased had left a hardware wallet in a desk drawer with a sticky note reading 'the password is in
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