Coldcard Bitcoin loss estimate rises to $70M after Galaxy analysis

cointelegraphPublished on 2026-08-01Last updated on 2026-08-01

Abstract

Galaxy Research has identified 1,196 addresses linked to the Coldcard wallet incident, with losses now estimated at 1,082.65 Bitcoin, approximately $70.2 million. The analysis traced the suspicious Bitcoin movements in a 41-minute window on July 30. This figure significantly revises an earlier preliminary estimate of $38 million. The stolen funds shared specific on-chain patterns, though future attacks may differ. Coinkite, Coldcard's maker, has taken responsibility for a firmware bug, released a hotfix, and advised users who generated seeds on vulnerable firmware to move their funds to a new seed.

Galaxy Research, the research arm of crypto investment company Galaxy Digital, identified 1,196 addresses linked to the Coldcard wallet incident that lost 1,082.65 Bitcoin, worth about $70.2 million at the time of the transactions.

Galaxy Research traced the Bitcoin movements between 1:10 AM and 1:51 AM UTC on July 30 across blocks 960,183 to 960,191, about 30 hours before Coldcard published its first security advisory, according to an X post on Friday.

Earlier preliminary analysis of the Coldcard incident by AnchorWatch CEO and co-founder Rob Hamilton estimated that 594.48 Bitcoin, worth around $38 million, moved across 500 transactions within a three-block window.

Galaxy Research later said the identified transactions shared a pattern, including identical 30 satoshis per virtual byte fees and no change outputs. The company said the initial attack activity is identifiable on-chain through this pattern, but noted that future attacks against Coldcard-generated addresses may not follow the same fingerprint.

Coinkite co-founder Rodolfo Novak said in an X post on Friday that the company takes responsibility for the firmware bug and is working to determine the full scope of the issue.

Novak said Coinkite released a hotfix to remove the software fallback path, but warned that the update does not protect seeds generated on vulnerable firmware. He advised users who generated seeds on vulnerable firmware to move their funds to a new seed.

Related: SecondFi to wind down after $2.6M ADA theft linked to wallet flaw

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Related Questions

QAccording to Galaxy Research, what was the total value of Bitcoin lost in the Coldcard wallet incident at the time of the transactions?

AApproximately $70.2 million.

QWhat specific pattern did Galaxy Research identify in the transactions linked to the Coldcard attack?

AThe transactions shared identical 30 satoshis per virtual byte fees and had no change outputs.

QWhat action did Coinkite take in response to the firmware bug, and what key limitation did they warn users about?

ACoinkite released a hotfix to remove the software fallback path, but warned that the update does not protect seeds generated on vulnerable firmware.

QHow did the earlier preliminary analysis by AnchorWatch's Rob Hamilton differ from Galaxy Research's final estimate in terms of Bitcoin amount lost?

AThe preliminary analysis estimated a loss of 594.48 Bitcoin (~$38M), while Galaxy's final estimate was 1,082.65 Bitcoin (~$70.2M).

QWhat did Coinkite co-founder Rodolfo Novak advise users who generated seeds on vulnerable firmware to do?

AHe advised them to move their funds to a new seed.

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