CustodyStress
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Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-01147

The original Bitcoin remained on-chain but inaccessible, with no recovery path

Blocked
Case description
A user who had purchased Bitcoin through a mobile wallet app in 2021 and never written down the seed phrase attempted to access funds in November 2023. A phone upgrade two years earlier had migrated all apps to the new phone, but the wallet's data had not been transferred—only the app. When the user opened the wallet app on the new phone, it prompted for a seed phrase to restore, which the user did not have. The original Bitcoin remained on-chain but inaccessible, with no recovery path available.
Custody context
Stress conditionSeed phrase unavailable
Custody systemMobile or software wallet
OutcomeBlocked
DocumentationUnknown
Year observed2023
CountryInternational
Structural dependencies observed
Technical specialist required
What this illustrates
Recovery needed someone with specialized technical knowledge who wasn't available. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not 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/
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146 cases involve seed phrase 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.
Terms guide
Outcome terms
Survives
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Constrained
Access remained possible, but only with delay, dependence, or significant difficulty.
Blocked
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Indeterminate
There was not enough information to determine the outcome.
Structural terms
Single-person knowledge
Recovery depended on information or capability held by one individual who was unavailable.
Institutional dependence
Recovery depended on a third-party institution or service that was inaccessible or uncooperative.
Documentation gap
Recovery depended on instructions that were missing, incomplete, or unclear.
Authority mismatch
The person with legal authority to act did not have operational access, or vice versa.
Original text
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