Bitcoin Custody Stress Test

What happens to your Bitcoin if something happens to you?

For anyone who holds Bitcoin — in an app, exchange or brokerage account, hardware wallet, multisig setup, or managed by a service — and wants to know what happens to it if something happens to them.

A stress test result and print-ready reference documents your family, executor, or lawyer can refer to — without needing to ask you.

Sample what the assessment produces

Answer simple questions about how your Bitcoin is set up — not keys, not balances, not locations. Most assessments require 20–40 minutes, depending on custody complexity. No accounts needed. No private keys shared. Diagnostic only — non-advisory and vendor-agnostic.

$179 · 12-month access · Unlimited assessments

The assessment distinguishes between:

  • who has legal authority and who can move the Bitcoin
  • how the system works in normal conditions and how it behaves under stress
  • partial access and complete access
  • what is written down and what can actually be done

What the assessment produces

An evaluation of how your Bitcoin custody setup behaves across seven stress scenarios, and reference documents designed to be read cold — by someone who has never seen the setup and may not understand Bitcoin.

CustodyStress

Bitcoin Custody Survivability Profile

Date: 2026-01-12·Reference: SAMPLE-CS-7K4R v1.0
Modeled Survivability State
Custody Constrained
Modeled outcome only. Describes system behavior under stated assumptions. Not a guarantee.
Assessment Assumptions
  • The Person Responsible is unavailable
  • No new information can be added to the system
  • Stress and confusion are present among recovery participants
  • Cooperation from all parties is not guaranteed
What Happens Under Common Scenarios
Legend
• Survives: Custody access and control remain viable under the stated assumptions.
• Constrained: Custody access and control remain possible but depend on specific conditions, timing, or coordination.
• Compromised: Custody access and control do not remain viable under the stated assumptions.
ScenarioModeled Outcome
Death / Absence
What happens if the original owner is no longer available to assist or provide information.
Survives
Device Loss
What happens if all primary devices and any information stored at home or work are lost or destroyed.
Survives
Physical Coercion
What happens if the owner is forced to act under immediate threat and attackers can access the premises.
Constrained
Cognitive Failure
What happens if the owner cannot recall details, passwords, or instructions.
Constrained
Legal Seizure
What happens if authorities can search all physical locations and seize any keys or phrases found on the premises.
Survives
Forced Relocation
What happens if the owner must relocate internationally on short notice without access to banks, offices, or storage locations.
Constrained
Where Stress Shows Up First

Shows which modeled stress condition limits recovery earlier than others — not an overall failure.

Most sensitive scenario:Physical Coercion
What happens if the owner is forced to act under immediate threat and attackers can access the premises.
Indicates relative sensitivity, not a point of failure.
Key Stress Factors
Liquidity
Partial access under stress
This examines how reliably access can be executed or verified during disruption.
Dependency
Conditional external dependency
This examines how much access depends on specific people, services, or organizations remaining available.
Durability
Moderately time-sensitive
This examines how much time the system can tolerate before access becomes harder or limited.
Observations That Influenced This Assessment
The assessment recorded that one recovery path relies on a collaborative custody service holding one of the required signing keys. If that service becomes unavailable, unresponsive, or discontinues operations, that particular recovery path would be blocked. The model noted that alternative recovery paths exist using only owner-held keys, which limited the overall impact.
The assessment recorded that the person who legally inherits the Bitcoin is different from the person who can technically perform the recovery. These two people would need to coordinate: one has the legal authority to act, the other has the technical knowledge and access. If they cannot communicate or cooperate, recovery may be delayed or blocked.
The assessment recorded that the full recovery process has not been tested in the last 12 months. Custody setups can drift over time as passwords change, services update, or people move. Without recent testing, the model cannot confirm that the documented recovery steps still work as expected.
SAMPLE-CS-7K4R | 2026-01-12 | v1.0
a3b7c9d4e8f2a1b5c3d7e9f0a2b4c6d8e0f1a3b5c7d9e1f2a4b6c8d0e2f4a6b8
Integrity digest is derived deterministically from declared inputs and methodology version. If any input is altered, the digest changes.
CustodyStress.com · Not a legal document.

Sample Bitcoin Custody Survivability Profile (mock data).

View all sample reference artifacts

Scope and Boundaries

Applicable situations

  • A survivability assessment of Bitcoin self-custody systems under stress
  • A model of redundancy, backup paths, and operational continuity
  • A test of sequencing, documentation access, and human coordination
  • A model of immediate, delayed, partial, or third-party–assisted custody access
  • A point-in-time assessment conducted under explicit stress assumptions

Out of scope

  • Financial, technical, legal, or estate-planning advice
  • Setup guidance, instructions, or recommendations
  • Wallet, coordinator, or inheritance-product comparisons
  • A formal security audit or certification
  • A guarantee of safety, recoverability, or correctness
  • A reassurance or confidence-scoring product

Recorded fields include:

  • what apps, devices, or services are involved in holding the Bitcoin
  • who is allowed to act and who must agree
  • what the system depends on (people, services, or things)
  • what delays can affect access
  • conditions that prevent access to the Bitcoin
  • assumptions that require someone else to cooperate

Assessment process and reference records

1

Describe what exists — People, devices, credentials, documentation, and dependencies.

2

Apply defined scenarios — Loss, unavailability, coercion, and operational disruption.

3

Review outcomes — A survivability profile describing how the custody system behaves and print-ready reference documents.

The record may be run again if wallets, recovery paths, or the people involved in custody change.

Print-ready reference documents

A completed assessment produces a set of print-ready reference documents designed to be read cold — by someone who has never seen the setup and may not understand Bitcoin.

Reference documents produced
1.
Survivability Profile
How your custody system behaves under stress.
2.
Inheritor Welcome Document
Plain-language starting point for a first-time reader.
3.
Custody System Overview
Wallets, devices, credentials, backup paths, and dependencies.
4.
Custody Coordination Notes
Companion page for handwritten notes.
5.
Estate–Custody Alignment Summary
Where legal authority and custody access align or diverge.
6.
Custody–Estate Coordination Reference
Discussion aid for roles, authority, and access.
7.
CustodyStress Input Snapshot
Frozen record of your declared inputs.
Click any document to view a sample populated with mock data.
Download all sample artifacts as a single PDF.
One Page Assessment Summary (PDF)

Each document includes a reference ID, assessment date, methodology version, and an integrity digest for tamper verification.

Privacy and data

  • All assessment data is processed locally
  • No responses are retained for training or analytics
  • No accounts required
  • No assessment data shared with third parties
Details

The assessment does not request: Seed phrases, private keys, wallet addresses, wallet types, device locations, passwords, PINs, recovery codes, or personal identifying information.

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