Owner incapacity — hardware wallet 2023

Blocked

Case description

A family in 2023 sought to access a hardware wallet belonging to a relative who had suffered a severe stroke and was in a long-term care facility with no prospect of recovery. The relative had set up a complex self-custody arrangement with a passphrase and a 2-of-3 multisig structure, none of which had been documented. The family's financial power of attorney did not provide any mechanism for accessing the wallet. A legal review confirmed there was no court procedure available in their jurisdiction to compel a financial institution to assist with a self-custody access problem.

Custody context

Stress condition	Owner incapacity
Custody system	Hardware wallet (single key)
Outcome	Blocked
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2023
Country	International

Structural dependencies observed

Single point of failure

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

Privately Reported

Evidence type

News article

Evidence link

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-crypto-thieves-kidnappers/

Related cases involving owner incapacity

68 cases involve owner incapacity 274 cases involve hardware wallet (single key) View archive statistics →

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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.