Coldcard Bitcoin Hack: Losses Top $111 Million as Old Wallets Hit

A fresh data analysis reveals that recent Bitcoin thefts mainly targeted long dormant wallets. Researchers looked at 250 victim reports and discovered that typical stolen funds sat untouched for three and a half years. In fact, 88 percent of the taken coins were at least a year old. Individual victims reported a median loss of one Bitcoin, while total losses have already crossed 111 million dollars and could climb even higher.

The breach stems from a firmware bug in Coldcard Mk3 devices. This issue started with version 4.0.1 back in March 2021 and caused seed generation to use a weak software random number generator instead of the hardware version. This flaw allowed hackers to guess investor seed phrases and drain funds throughout the weekend while companies scrambled to warn users.

Coinkite admitted that the software bug went unnoticed while its potential impact grew with each new release. The company is urging users to update their software or move their coins immediately. Many cautious investors are already shifting their assets to different storage options and exchanges while the fallout continues.