Coldcard Wallet Vulnerability Results in $114 Million in Bitcoin Losses

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Bitcoin news emerged after a firmware flaw in Coldcard wallets—first identified in March 2021—resulted in weak seed phrase randomness and $114 million in losses. Galaxy Research reported that the theft increased from $88 million within days. Coldcard, a Bitcoin-only hardware wallet since 2017, uses microSD cards and optional QR codes for offline signing. The incident adds to ongoing reports of vulnerabilities in the crypto space.

ChainCatcher reports that Coinkite, a manufacturer of Bitcoin hardware wallets, disclosed in late July 2026 that a firmware build error introduced in March 2021 caused some Coldcard wallets to generate mnemonics from a smaller range, reducing the randomness of users' private keys. Galaxy Research researchers stated that exploitation of the Coldcard vulnerability occurred in multiple rounds, with observed Bitcoin losses increasing from approximately $88 million to nearly $114 million over several days. Following warnings from researchers that other vulnerable addresses could still be targeted, many Coldcard users transferred their Bitcoin. The Coldcard is a Bitcoin-only wallet that supports offline signing via microSD card and optional QR codes. Launched in 2017, it has long been regarded as one of the security-focused Bitcoin hardware wallets.

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