Ledger suspected losses reach $93.4m as supply chain attack theory grows
Suspected losses linked to Ledger hardware wallets may have reached $93.4m across 471 addresses, with a supply chain attack the leading theory as the company stays silent.
Why it matters: Suspected losses of $93.4m at a major hardware wallet maker put self-custody supply chains and third-party resellers under scrutiny for crypto holders.
Key points
- Yfarmx reporter John Kamal put suspected losses at $93.4m across 471 addresses, while Bitquery counted about $92.9m across 311 addresses.
- Chainalysis said it is investigating reports of funds stolen from Ledger product holders and a "sophisticated cross-chain laundering operation".
- Mark Karpelès documented Ledger devices containing hidden hardware able to capture recovery phrases during setup.
Suspected Ledger losses may have reached $93.4m, according to onchain analysis, as the hardware wallet maker stays silent on what happened. The figure comes from Yfarmx reporter John Kamal, who counted 471 distinct addresses, up from preliminary reports of an $86m alleged theft. Ledger has not verified the findings or confirmed the alleged losses, which some reports put at nearly $100m.
Bitcoin.com News reported earlier that Ledger was investigating losses among users in South East Asia who bought products from a reseller named CryptoBillis. The company has offered no further findings since, leaving independent investigators to piece the episode together. Bitquery's own analysis put the figure at around $92.9m across 311 unique addresses, with its report stating that one thief held all the keys.
Neither Ledger nor independent investigators have established a link between those suspected implants and the reported losses.
Kamal's report says the transfers appeared to be authorised with victims' own signing credentials, and that some Bitcoin addresses were drained entirely with no change returned. Thorchain and Tornado Cash were among the tools used across several networks.
What to watch: The crypto community is awaiting a formal postmortem from Ledger, which had still not confirmed the loss totals as of 9 Oct.
Live updates on NewsFeeds:AltcoinsDesk editor: Keshav Aggarwal (accountable for this page; this summary was not edited by hand)
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