Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-01279
The announcement—more than 14 months after FTX froze customer withdrawals in November
ConstrainedCase description
In January 2024, FTX CEO John Jay Ray III revised the estate's recovery estimate upward, telling the Delaware bankruptcy court that he expected to be able to pay all customers back in full. The announcement—more than 14 months after FTX froze customer withdrawals in November 2022—was the first time the estate had forecast full recovery. FTX customers whose funds had been inaccessible since November 2022 remained blocked pending court approval of a final reorganisation plan. The estate noted it had accumulated more than $14.5 billion in recoverable assets through the liquidation of investments including FTX's stake in AI startup Anthropic.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Vendor lockout |
| Custody system | Exchange custody |
| Outcome | Constrained |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2024 |
| Country | United States |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
Getting access back required help from an institution — and that help wasn't available. Whether full access was ultimately possible is unclear, but significant delay or outside intervention was involved.
Outcome interpretation
Access remained possible, but only with delay, dependence, or significant difficulty.
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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