Coldcard Exploit Shakes Bitcoin Self-Custody Narrative as Losses Keep Mounting

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Alex Thorn, Head of Galaxy Research, said on X that attacks exploiting a Coldcard hardware-wallet vulnerability have dropped sharply, though total losses continue to climb as additional victims come forward. The episode has hit the Bitcoin community hard because those affected were largely long-term BTC holders committed to self-custody and cold storage, not users who lost funds through high-risk trading or DeFi activities. With roughly $112 million stolen, the incident ranks among the 20 largest cryptocurrency hacks on record and is considered one of the most serious breaches so far within the hardware-wallet self-custody segment. Thorn said Bitcoin's security culture may be entering a new phase: the era of relying mainly on ideology and maximalist self-custody messaging is fading. He argued the community needs to prioritize technical safeguards, reduce friction for users, and move away from reflexively blaming everyday users when security breaks down. The shock could push the ecosystem toward a more mature security framework. Galaxy Research said it has contacted 190 victims directly and has high confidence that 1,778.84 BTC (about $112.7 million) were stolen from more than 8,600 addresses as a result of the vulnerability. That estimate excludes additional, moderately credible suspicious activity, including the unconfirmed "Wave 4." If those potential attacks are counted, total losses could reach 2,417.35 BTC (about $153 million). The incident is also reshaping market views on self-custody risk. Galaxy said multisignature wallets have been the "winners" so far, noting it has not traced any stolen transactions to multisig setups. Multisig providers including Casa, Unchained, Nunchuk, and Anchorwatch reported notable increases in new signups and BTC inflows.