The Crypto Graveyard
What failed, what had been assumed, and what I carry forward. Event dates describe historical records; they do not imply a current recovery status or a personal loss.
MT. GOX · 2014
- TYPE
- EXCHANGE · Custodial insolvency
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- The exchange entered bankruptcy proceedings in April 2014 after a February rehabilitation application.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- A working exchange account could feel like possession of the coins. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- The network can keep operating while a custodian fails. Those are separate promises.
- SOURCE
- Mt. Gox trustee report
FTX · 2022
- TYPE
- EXCHANGE · Misappropriation / control failure
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- Customer funds were diverted to Alameda and other uses. The DOJ records the subsequent fraud conviction and 2024 sentencing.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- A recognizable brand and professional interface could be mistaken for reliable controls. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- Ask who can move the money, who can inspect that power, and what prevents an exception.
- SOURCE
- FTX: customer funds and the verdict
LUNA / UST · 2022
- TYPE
- STABLECOIN · Peg collapse and fraud
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- UST lost its dollar peg in May 2022; the SEC records the collapse and the later fraud verdict.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- A mechanism called stable might remain stable when confidence disappeared. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- A name does not explain who absorbs the stress. Read the mechanism in the condition where it stops working.
- SOURCE
- Terra / UST: the failed promise of a peg
CELSIUS · 2022
- TYPE
- LENDING · Liquidity / insolvency
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- Celsius halted withdrawals in June 2022 and filed for Chapter 11 in July.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- An account balance earning yield could be treated like immediately available cash. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- Availability is part of the promise. When withdrawal depends on permission, that dependence belongs in the record.
- SOURCE
- Celsius: withdrawals and the bankruptcy
BLOCKFI · 2022
- TYPE
- LENDING · Insolvency
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- BlockFi filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition on November 28, 2022.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- A lender’s survival could be considered separately from the firms it depended on. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- The boundary of an application is not the boundary of its exposure.
- SOURCE
- BlockFi bankruptcy court record
THREE ARROWS CAPITAL · 2022
- TYPE
- GOVERNANCE · Fund insolvency
- WHAT FAILED / WHAT HAPPENED
- The BVI court appointed joint liquidators on June 27, 2022.
- WHAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BELIEVED
- Institutional reputation could stand in for visibility into risk. Interpretive framing, not a survey.
- REMNA’S NOTE
- A reputation can travel farther than the evidence supporting it. Map obligations, not only names.
- SOURCE
- Three Arrows Capital: appointment of liquidators