Ledger investigates wallet tampering tied to tens of millions in crypto thefts

Ledger Explored Wallet Tampering Tied to Tens of Millions in Crypto Theft

Investigation Launched by Ledger

Ledger has opened an investigation into a wave of reported fund losses among customers in Southeast Asia. The common thread so far is devices bought through CryptoBilis, an authorized Ledger reseller operating in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Guidance for Buyers

The guidance for buyers depends on whether they have opened the box. Anyone who bought from the reseller in the last 90 days and has not set up the device yet should leave it uninitialized. Customers who already set up a wallet are being urged to move their assets to a new Ledger device. That new device should generate a completely fresh seed phrase.

Alleged Spy Hardware

The tampering theory took shape on social media. Photos and videos posted on X and Threads appear to show a small circuit board tucked beneath the device's screen.

Loss Estimates

The dollar figures come from onchain analysts, not from Ledger. Analytics outfits Specter and tanuki42 flagged a pattern of inflows to suspected theft addresses across multiple blockchains, with loss estimates ranging between $72 million and $93 million.

Tether's Response

Tether froze approximately $10 million in USDT linked to some of the alleged theft addresses.

Next Steps

For anyone holding a Ledger bought through CryptoBilis, the practical steps are clear. Follow the company's guidance, move funds to a fresh device with a new seed phrase, and do not wait for the investigation to finish.