Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-01133
Platform bankruptcy — Celsius (2023)
IndeterminateCase description
As Celsius, Voyager, and Genesis creditors waited through 2023 for resolution, tax professionals identified a specific custody stress that extended beyond access: creditors could not claim tax losses on their frozen crypto because the IRS did not recognize the assets as lost while the bankruptcy proceedings were active. Assets were effectively in legal limbo—inaccessible and non-transactable, but also generating no tax benefit from the loss. This tax treatment extended the financial damage of the custody blockage beyond the direct loss of access.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Vendor lockout |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Indeterminate |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2023 |
| 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.
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