Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-01026
Platform bankruptcy — Celsius (2022)
BlockedCase description
Celsius customers outside the United States faced additional barriers to participating in the US bankruptcy process in 2022. Filing a proof of claim in a US Chapter 11 case required navigating US federal court procedures, potentially through US counsel, from a foreign country. Many international customers with small balances calculated that the cost of legal participation would exceed any recovery. The bankruptcy process—designed for US creditors—was effectively inaccessible to a significant portion of Celsius's international user base.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Vendor lockout |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Blocked |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2022 |
| Country | International |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Getting access back required help from an institution — and that help wasn't available. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
News article
Evidence link
Related cases involving vendor lockout
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents.
Submit a case
← All cases
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.
Translate