They moved offices and the filing cabinet was sent to a storage facility.

Blocked

Case description

A Trezor user who set up their device in 2014 stored the recovery seed in a filing cabinet. In January 2016 they moved offices and the filing cabinet was sent to a storage facility. When they needed to recover their wallet in early 2016 the storage facility operator stated the cabinet could not be located among thousands of items in the facility.

Custody context

Stress condition	Seed phrase unavailable
Custody system	Hardware wallet (single key)
Outcome	Blocked
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2016
Country	Unknown

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

Publicly Reported

Evidence type

Forum post

Evidence link

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

Related cases involving seed phrase unavailable

146 cases involve seed phrase unavailable 274 cases involve hardware wallet (single key) 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.