Ledger hack scare nears $90 million as Tether moves to freeze stolen USDT

Ledger Wallets Under Fire as Tether Freezes $90 Million in Stolen USDT

Suspected Ledger Wallet Theft Approaches $90 Million

Ledger is investigating reports of customer losses after buying devices from CryptoBilis, an authorized reseller in Southeast Asia. The company has advised customers not to initialize their wallets and urged those who had already configured their wallets to transfer their cryptocurrency to a new device. Ledger has not disclosed how many devices may have been compromised or established whether the incident resulted from counterfeit hardware, physical tampering, or another attack method.

Blockchain Investigators Attempt to Contain Losses

Blockchain investigators are attempting to trace and restrict the movement of stolen cryptocurrency. On-chain investigator Specter said transaction analysis identified inflows from hundreds of suspected victim wallets into addresses across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron. The researcher initially estimated the suspected thefts exceeded $86 million, but blockchain security firm MistTrack later placed the reported losses closer to $90 million.

Tether Freezes USDT Linked to the Incident

Tether has frozen USDT linked to the incident, offering a potential recovery avenue because USDT includes administrative controls that let Tether restrict transfers from designated addresses. However, the intervention has limitations. The suspected thefts span several blockchain networks and involve assets beyond USDT. Tether cannot directly freeze native Bitcoin or Ethereum, leaving investigators dependent on cooperation from exchanges, custodians, and law enforcement if those assets move into identifiable services.