{
  "id": 30404,
  "title": "Bitcoin hardware wallet Coldcard shipped a faulty firmware build, and hackers are now draining wallets; Galaxy Research estimates $70M+ stolen (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/bitcoin-hardware-wallet-coldcard-shipped-a-faulty-firmware-build-and",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-01T19:00:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Techmeme",
    "slug": "techmeme",
    "url": "https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/01/how-bitcoin-cold-wallets-lost-usd70-million-in-an-attack-that-never-touched-the-devices"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A firmware bug in the Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallet has led to the theft of millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency. The issue, which dates back to a March 2021 integration error, allowed attackers to guess supposedly random seed phrases from outside the device, enabling them to drain funds from thousands of addresses. According to Galaxy Research, over 1,367 Bitcoin, worth approximately $88.6 million, has been stolen across 4,585 addresses.\n\nThe thefts began on July 30, with 1,082.65 Bitcoin, worth around $70.2 million, stolen from 1,196 addresses in a 41-minute window. Further waves of theft have been detected since then. The attacker targeted the largest balances first, with one victim losing around $1.8 million. Coinkite, the manufacturer of Coldcard, has confirmed the issue and shipped fixed firmware.\n\nThe incident has raised concerns about the safety of self-custody solutions, with some investors moving their holdings to exchanges in search of greater security. Daily exchange deposits of Bitcoin transfers over 10 BTC spiked to 7.3K BTC, the highest since February 6, following the hack.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CoinDesk",
        "title": "Coldcard's $38 million (so far) exploit shakes faith in self-custody, may push investors to ETFs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/coldcards-38-million-so-far-exploit-shakes-faith-in-self-custody-may",
        "published": "2026-07-31T17:07:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Cointelegraph",
        "title": "Coldcard Bitcoin loss estimate rises to $70M after Galaxy analysis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/coldcard-bitcoin-loss-estimate-rises-to-70m-after-galaxy-analysis",
        "published": "2026-08-01T09:23:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hacker News",
        "title": "Coldcard Hardware Wallet Flaw Linked to $70 Million Bitcoin Theft in 41 Minutes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/coldcard-hardware-wallet-flaw-linked-to-70-million-bitcoin-theft-in",
        "published": "2026-08-01T17:17:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Slashdot",
        "title": "Recovery Seeds Reportedly Breached for Coldcard Hardware Bitcoin Wallets, $75M Taken",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/recovery-seeds-reportedly-breached-for-coldcard-hardware-bitcoin",
        "published": "2026-08-02T01:48:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}