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Coldcard bitcoin theft losses confirmed at $115 million

Galaxy Research said it has spoken with more than 200 victims, and estimated total losses could exceed $130 million as the investigation continues.

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Bitcoin Magazine, citing updated figures from Galaxy Research, said confirmed losses from the Coldcard bitcoin theft have reached $115 million. Galaxy Researchs latest data indicates that $115 million in bitcoin has been lost in the theft tied to the Coldcard hardware wallet incident.

The report says hackers began taking bitcoin stored on Coldcard devices on July 31, exploiting a firmware bug in Coldcard Mk3 units. According to the article, the bug caused seed generation to fall back to a weaker software pseudorandom number generator rather than the devices hardware true randomness.

Coinkite, the Canadian company behind Coldcard, attributes the issue to the firmware starting with version 4.0.1 in March 2021. Bitcoin Magazine said Coinkite warned users soon after the first hack to update software or move funds off the hardware wallet.

Galaxy Research also estimated that at least 15 separate attackers were exploiting the bug independently, and noted earlier research that the typical stolen coin had sat untouched for 3.5 years, with 88.0% of pilfered funds at least a year old. The firm is still confirming the final figure, and said total losses could exceed $130 million as updates continue.

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