Warum Hardware-Wallets nicht mehr sicher sind/Why hardware wallets are no longer secure

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A new hardware wallet was supposed to protect his assets. Ten days later, all his Bitcoin had vanished.

A crypto investor lost approximately $6.6 million worth of Bitcoin after transferring his coins to a new Ledger hardware wallet just a few days earlier. A total of 80 Bitcoin disappeared in a single transaction from the device, which was intended for the secure storage of cryptocurrencies.

According to the blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, the investor had purchased his Bitcoin about four months prior at an average price of $65,000. At the time, the 80 BTC cost a total of around $5.2 million before their value increased by approximately $1.38 million due to the subsequent price surge.

According to Lookonchain, the investor had purchased his hardware wallet from the Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis. Ledger requested that the reseller temporarily cease selling its devices after the incident came to light. It remains unclear whether the affected wallets were manipulated before being sold or whether the perpetrators gained access to the private keys through other means.

Reports of a potential attack on Ledger users are currently piling up on X. According to Onchain analyst Specter, cryptocurrencies worth more than $86 million have been stolen. Specter claims to have examined the alleged perpetrators' addresses and identified inflows of funds from hundreds of wallets. The transactions are said to span multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron.

At least Ledger Support has now addressed the "panic." “We are currently investigating reports of lost funds among users in Southeast Asia who purchased products from a reseller called CryptoBillis,” reads a statement on X.

*The statement continues: “We recommend that Ledger users who purchased from this reseller within the last 90 days do not begin setup yet, if they haven't already done so. If you have already set up your Ledger device, you should consider transferring your assets to a new Ledger device (with a new seed). We will continue to keep our customers updated on the progress of the investigation.”*

**It remains unclear whether the manipulations are actually limited to CryptoBillis devices. Over the weekend, a user on X also reported allegedly manipulated Ledger wallets from German retailers. One of the devices was reportedly purchased new at MediaMarkt. Ledger has not yet established a connection between these findings and the confirmed cases.**

My personal conclusion:

Do not buy hardware wallets on eBay, Amazon, or any other secondary market. All of these devices could have been manipulated! Only buy hardware wallets directly from the manufacturer!

However, there are also increasing rumors that hardware wallets are no longer secure either.

If you want to protect your assets, then consider a different wallet. Distribute your investments across multiple wallets and exchanges.