Coldcard Exploit Steals 1,778.84 BTC, Signaling Shift in Bitcoin Security Paradigm

Galaxy Research confirms $112.7M stolen from 8,600+ addresses via Coldcard exploit. Multisig adoption surges as community pivots from pure self-custody to technical security frameworks.

Woofun AI reports that Galaxy Research has directly contacted 190 victims of the Coldcard hardware wallet exploit, confirming the theft of 1,778.84 BTC (approximately $112.7 million) from over 8,600 addresses. This figure excludes unconfirmed incidents; including potential attacks like 'Wave 4' could raise total losses to 2,417.35 BTC (around $153 million). High-confidence attacks primarily occurred before August 6, with no new waves detected since. Galaxy warns that reduced activity does not indicate zero risk, attributing it to users moving funds or depleted vulnerable wallets. Users holding assets in single-signature wallets generated by compromised Coldcard devices are urged to transfer funds to new addresses immediately.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, stated that the incident profoundly impacted the Bitcoin community, as victims were primarily long-term BTC holders practicing self-custody rather than participants in high-risk DeFi activities. The breach ranks among the top 20 most costly crypto hacks in history. Multisig wallets remained secure, with no stolen transactions originating from them. Consequently, multisig service providers Casa, Unchained, Nunchuk, and Anchorwatch reported significant increases in user registrations and BTC inflows. Thorn suggested that the Bitcoin ecosystem may be entering a new phase, moving away from extreme self-custody advocacy toward a focus on technical security and lower barriers for new users.