A recovery service confirmed that recovering a 12-word BIP39 seed with 2 unknown words

Survives

Case description

A Bitcoin wallet user discovered in April 2022 that their seed phrase backup—written on paper and stored in a home fireproof box—had been partially destroyed by flooding. Eight of twelve words were fully legible, two were partially legible, and two were completely unreadable. A recovery service confirmed that recovering a 12-word BIP39 seed with 2 unknown words and 2 partial words was computationally feasible—estimated at several days of GPU work. The recovery was successful.

Custody context

Stress condition	Seed phrase unavailable
Custody system	Mobile or software wallet
Outcome	Survives
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2022
Country	International

Structural dependencies observed

Technical specialist required

Outcome interpretation

Access remained possible under the reported conditions.

Source

Privately Reported

Evidence type

News article

Evidence link

https://btcnewsanalysis.com/2022/08/16/how-a-trezor-wallet-passphrase-taking-a-lifetime-to-brute-force-was-cracked-by-keychainx/

Related cases involving seed phrase unavailable

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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.