Coldcard flaw sparks wallet migrations, pushing new Bitcoin addresses above 330,000 in a week

Huo Xing Cai Jing reports that The Block data shows a surge in Bitcoin address creation last week as users migrated wallets following a Coldcard vulnerability. New addresses climbed from about 260,000 to more than 330,000, reversing a decline that had persisted through much of 2026. Since July 30, Coinkite hardware wallet users have lost at least 1,816 BTC (around $116 million) in four separate attack waves. The issue traces back to a 2021 firmware defect: the device generated mnemonic phrases using a weak software-based random number generator instead of its built-in hardware entropy source, enabling attackers to brute-force wallets created offline. Coinkite has urged users who created wallets between March 2021 and the release of the security patch to move funds to newly generated wallets. The episode underscores the operational risks of self-custody and is prompting users to reassess the trade-offs between holding assets directly and using custodial options such as centralized exchanges or ETFs.