Seed unavailable — hardware wallet (2018)

Survives

Case description

A July 2018 forum case describes a user who had their seed phrase sealed in an envelope given to their solicitor for safekeeping. The solicitor's firm was dissolved in a merger and files were transferred to a new firm that could not locate the specific envelope among thousands of transferred client documents.

Custody context

Stress condition	Seed phrase unavailable
Custody system	Hardware wallet (single key)
Outcome	Survives
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2018
Country	Unknown

Structural dependencies observed

Institutional cooperation required

Outcome interpretation

Access remained 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.