Ledger is investigating reports that more than $86 million in cryptocurrency may have been stolen from hundreds of wallets linked to devices sold by CryptoBilis, a Southeast Asian reseller. The losses and connection have not been independently verified.
Blockchain investigator Specter identified suspected theft addresses across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron after seeing reports from Ledger users on social media and Reddit. It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected or what caused the losses.
Ledger has asked CryptoBilis to halt all sales and shipments while the investigation continues. The company advised customers who purchased devices from the reseller within the past 90 days not to set up their wallets. Those who have already activated their wallets should consider transferring their assets to a new Ledger device with a newly generated recovery phrase.
Possible Explanations
One possible explanation is a supply-chain attack in which hardware wallets are tampered with before reaching customers. An attacker could supply a device with a recovery phrase they already know, allowing them to access funds deposited into the wallet later. However, there is no confirmation that device tampering or pre-generated recovery phrases caused the reported losses.
Industry Context
The potential theft adds to a difficult year for crypto security. Recent major incidents include a Bitget exchange exploit resulting in over $350 million in stolen assets, Liquid Network at approximately $320 million, Drift at $295 million, and Kelp at $293 million, according to DefiLlama data.
Ledger said it would provide updates as the investigation progresses. The number of affected users, whether the reported thefts are connected, and the total amount of cryptocurrency lost remain unclear.
