Passphrase unavailable — software wallet (2015)

Blocked

Case description

A university student who had mined Bitcoin as a computer science project in 2013 returned to their wallet in July 2015 intending to sell after price increases. The wallet passphrase had been set under lab conditions on a shared university computer whose keyboard had a faulty Shift key. The passphrase the student remembered did not work on a normal keyboard.

Custody context

Stress condition	Passphrase unavailable
Custody system	Mobile or software wallet
Outcome	Blocked
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2015
Country	Unknown

Structural dependencies observed

Single point of failure

What this illustrates

The seed phrase was there, but the passphrase that unlocked it was gone. Both are required. Access was not recoverable.

Outcome interpretation

Access was not possible under the reported conditions.

Source

Publicly Reported

Evidence type

Forum post

Evidence link

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=255793.0

Related cases involving passphrase unavailable

217 cases involve passphrase unavailable 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.