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Coldcard exploit thefts total at least 1,596 BTC, Galaxy estimates

Galaxy Research estimates losses could rise to 2,055 BTC, worth about $130 million, as it tracks a possible fourth attack wave.

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Coldcard’s hardware wallet firmware flaw has led to thefts of at least 1,596 BTC from roughly 7,300 addresses, according to Galaxy Research, with losses tied to three major attack waves and 14 smaller incidents.

Galaxy said the confirmed figure may be understated, identifying a possible fourth wave that could increase total thefts to 2,055 BTC, worth about $130 million, though it has excluded those addresses from its confirmed estimate pending additional victim reports.

Galaxy reported that at least 73 victims have contacted its head of research, Alex Thorn, for help tracing their Bitcoin, and that the new information helped it conclude that at least 15 attackers may be exploiting the vulnerability.

The thefts stem from a firmware coding error from March 2021 that could cause some devices to generate recovery seeds with weaker randomness, letting attackers reconstruct private keys remotely. Coldcard and Coinkite urged users to update firmware, create a new seed, and move funds, and researchers said activity across the Bitcoin network has surged, with 712,000 active addresses over the past seven days and transactions above $100,000 reaching 61,800, both at multi month highs.

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