Coldcard Hacked for $70M: How Do You Keep Bitcoin Safe if Cold Wallets Can Be Hacked?
Galaxy Research said attackers used a collapsed key range to sweep 1,082.65 bitcoin from 1,196 Coldcard wallets in 41 minutes.
- On July 30, more than 1,000 BTC worth about $70 million was drained from 1,196 Coldcard wallets during a 41-minute window, with the attacker generating candidate seeds offline to bypass the devices entirely.
- Coldcard firmware contained an internal setting that skipped the dedicated hardware randomness generator, causing key generation to rely on predictable factory metadata affecting Mk2, Mk3, Mk4, and Mk5 models.
- Block's Clay Garrett said the operator used a paid account at a "well-known blockchain data provider" to query source addresses with what he called "extraordinary specificity" in timing and sequence.
- Galaxy Research mapped the event, finding 1,082.65 BTC swept in batches between 01:10 and 01:51 UTC across six blocks, while Block passed information to authorities and Galaxy warned owners to move funds.
- Security teams note the attack mechanism is significant despite smaller size than other breaches this year; owners must assume their seeds are compromised until the firmware issue is resolved.
37 Articles
37 Articles
How bitcoin cold wallets lost $70 million in an attack that never touched the devices
Galaxy Research said weak seed generation let an attacker recreate likely private keys offline, sweep more than 1,000 BTC from nearly 1,200 wallets and continue searching without ever accessing the devices.
Coldcard Bitcoin Theft Hits $88.6M as Third Attack Wave Emerges
TLDR: Galaxy Research links 1,367.05 BTC across 4,585 addresses to suspected thefts tied to Coldcard seeds. A third attack cluster added 207.7294 BTC, lifting estimated losses far above the first $38 million figure. The flaw weakened seed randomness, leaving wallets vulnerable despite air-gapped storage and offline backups. Firmware fixes protect new seeds, but users must migrate funds because updates cannot repair older weak seeds. Losses link…
Galaxy Research identifies 1,367 BTC drained in attacks on Coldcard addresses
The Coldcard breach highlights critical vulnerabilities in hardware wallet security, urging investors to reassess their digital asset protection strategies. The post Galaxy Research identifies 1,367 BTC drained in attacks on Coldcard addresses appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
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