22 September 2026
White Hat Hackers Secure 52.37 BTC from Coldcard Exploit, Aiding Bitcoin Recovery Efforts
In a remarkable development for victims of the Coldcard exploit, a group of white hat hackers has successfully secured 52.37 BTC, thwarting malicious attackers from stealing these funds. This amount represents 2.8% of the total exploited bitcoin, which has now been transferred to an address managed by Crypto Recovery Trust.
According to Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, approximately 40% of the funds from Coldcard's Wave 2 were actually recovered by white hats, who acted swiftly to protect victim assets. The rescued bitcoin, valued at over $4.4 million, has been consolidated into a new address, marked with an OP_RETURN message pointing to the Crypto Recovery Trust.
The Coldcard exploit, which began in July, involved vulnerabilities in certain hardware wallets that allowed attackers to reconstruct wallet seeds offline. As the situation unfolded, it became evident that not all transactions were carried out by thieves; many were executed by ethical hackers aiming to safeguard the funds.
Thorn's analysis reveals that the 52.37 BTC is just a portion of the larger picture, as he estimates that 1,393 BTC, or 76.1% of the total exploited amount, has been accounted for across various waves of transactions. However, the whereabouts of the remaining 60% of Wave 2 funds remain uncertain, raising questions about whether they were taken by malicious actors or other white hats.
As the Crypto Recovery Trust embarks on the challenging task of returning the recovered bitcoin to its rightful owners, the issue of proving ownership complicates matters. Various forms of evidence, including device forensics and KYC records, may be necessary to establish rightful claims.
This incident not only highlights the critical role of white hat hackers in the crypto space but also underscores the ongoing challenges in securing digital assets against sophisticated attacks.
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