Industry News

COLDCARD Hardware Wallet Maker Rushes Firmware Fix After $114M Bitcoin Theft

Crypto Briefing · 21 Aug 2026

Key Takeaway If your business uses hardware wallets or security devices for digital assets, update firmware immediately and verify security-critical setup steps like seed generation yourself rather than trusting defaults.

COLDCARD, a maker of hardware wallets used to store cryptocurrency offline, has released firmware version 5.6.1 following an exploit that drained 1,816 BTC—worth roughly $114 million—from affected wallets. The incident underscores how even devices designed for high security can have flaws exploited by attackers.

According to reports, the exploit centred on weaknesses related to seed generation, the process used to create the private keys that protect crypto holdings. This highlights the importance of users actively participating in and verifying seed generation rather than relying entirely on default device processes, since flaws in this step can undermine the entire security model of a wallet.

While this incident primarily affects cryptocurrency holders, it serves as a broader reminder for any business relying on hardware security devices: firmware and device-level vulnerabilities can have serious financial consequences, and vendors' security patches should be applied promptly.

Summarised by CISO AI from Crypto Briefing. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.