Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-01032
Institutional lockout — FTX (2022)
IndeterminateCase description
Crypto lender Salt Lending suspended withdrawals in December 2022 citing FTX exposure and difficult market conditions. Borrowers who had posted Bitcoin as collateral for loans found they could not retrieve their collateral even after repaying their loans, as the suspension applied to all outbound transfers. The case illustrated a specific custody stress in collateralized lending: the lender's insolvency trapped borrower-owned collateral in the estate.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Vendor lockout |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Indeterminate |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2022 |
| Country | United States |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Getting access back required help from an institution — and that help wasn't available. It's not clear whether anyone ever regained access.
Outcome interpretation
Not enough information is available to determine the outcome.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
News article
Related cases involving vendor lockout
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents.
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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.