Ledger Uncovers Chip Hack Stealing Recovery Phrases in $93M Crypto Theft
A hidden chip in hardware wallets sold by a Southeast Asian reseller captured and transmitted users' 24-word recovery phrases, leading to significant losses.
A hidden chip in hardware wallets sold by a Southeast Asian reseller captured and transmitted users' 24-word recovery phrases, leading to significant losses. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 3 outlets (Cryptopolitan, CoinDesk, Decrypt), with their figures cross-checked, plus live market data, as of Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:45:01 UTC.
This incident highlights critical vulnerabilities in hardware wallet supply chains and raises concerns about user trust in authorized sales channels. The attack demonstrates how sophisticated methods can compromise even devices with secure elements.
- A hidden chip in wallets sold by CryptoBilis captured 24-word recovery phrases.
- Attack caused estimated losses between $84.2M and $93.2M.
- Affected devices transmitted data via cellular network.
- Incident raises questions about hardware wallet supply chain security.
Multiple outlets - Cryptopolitan, CoinDesk, Crypto.news, and Decrypt - confirm that Ledger discovered a hidden chip in hardware wallets sold by its Southeast Asian reseller, CryptoBilis, which captured users' 24-word recovery phrases and transmitted them via cellular network. Estimates of the losses caused by the attack range from $84.2 million to $93.2 million, as reported by Cryptopolitan and CoinDesk. While all outlets agree on the basic mechanism of the attack, Decrypt emphasizes that the Secure Element and wallet software remained uncompromised, suggesting the attack specifically targeted the recovery phrase during the setup process.
Ledger has disclosed a sophisticated attack on its hardware wallets involving a hidden chip that captured users' 24-word recovery phrases and transmitted them to attackers. The French crypto security firm revealed that the compromised devices were sold through CryptoBilis, a reseller based in Southeast Asia.
The attack vector involved a covert chip embedded in the hardware wallets that could read the recovery phrase directly from the device's screen during the setup process. This information was then transmitted over the LTE network to the attackers, according to reports from Cryptopolitan and Crypto.news. The method left the Secure Element and wallet software untouched, as noted by Decrypt.
While Ledger confirmed that all known cases are linked to devices sold by CryptoBilis, the incident has sparked criticism regarding the security of the company's authorized sales channels. CoinDesk reports that critics are calling for Ledger to address potential vulnerabilities in its supply chain management.
The attack resulted in significant financial losses, with estimates ranging from $84.2 million to $93.2 million, as reported by Cryptopolitan and corroborated by CoinDesk. This range reflects the scale of the breach and the potential impact on affected users.
In the broader market context, the total crypto market cap stands at $2.87 trillion, with 
Bitcoin showing a modest 24-hour gain of 0.43% and the overall market remaining relatively flat. The Fear & Greed Index is at 57, indicating a state of 'Greed,' suggesting that the market has not yet been significantly affected by this security incident.
This revelation underscores the importance of supply chain security in the hardware wallet industry. As investigations continue, users and industry stakeholders will be closely watching for further developments and measures to prevent similar attacks in the future.
1 key figure independently matched across 3 outlets reporting this story.
Token Times extracts the figures each outlet reports and flags the ones that agree. Numbers cited by only one outlet are attributed in the brief, not shown as corroborated.
Ledger Uncovers Chip Hack Stealing Recovery Phrases in $93M — questions & answers
How did the attack on Ledger wallets work?
A hidden chip captured 24-word recovery phrases from the screen and transmitted them via LTE.
What is the estimated loss from the Ledger wallet hack?
Estimated losses range from $84.2 million to $93.2 million.
Which reseller sold the compromised Ledger wallets?
The affected devices were sold by Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis.
Which outlets reported this story?
This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Cryptopolitan, CoinDesk, Decrypt, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.
Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.