Crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger has initiated a probe into reports of theft of customers' funds who bought from one of its authorized resellers in Southeast Asia.
On Friday, Ledger confirmed it was looking into reports of crypto thefts involving users who bought hardware wallets from CryptoBilis, one of its authorized resellers in Malaysia.
As a precautionary measure, Ledger has urged CryptoBilis to halt all sales and shipping of Ledger hardware until the investigation is over.
In addition, Ledger urgently warned customers who bought from the reseller in the last 90 days not to initialize their wallets if they haven't already.
For those who have initialized their wallets, Ledger has suggested they may wish to move their crypto assets to a new Ledger hardware wallet with a new recovery phrase.
It's unclear at this time what may have caused the alleged thefts, or whether any hardware has been compromised.
Binance founder CZ reacts
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has responded to the incident, and he suggested that the alleged thefts may be the result of a supply chain attack involving counterfeit or tampered hardware wallets.
"Beware if you use a Ledger HW wallet. Especially if you got one recently," CZ said on X.
Based on the information at hand, Zhao noted that it appears this potential breach may have occurred with only one vendor, and it's possible that only a small number of customers may have been sent compromised devices.
CZ also came to Ledger's defense in the crypto space. After all, Ledger is one of the oldest and most secure hardware wallet manufacturers, he said.
It's CZ's hope that members of the BNB ecosystem as well as crypto in general will be able to track down these stolen funds and perhaps recover them.
Even former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès weighed in on the situation. CryptoBilis is based in Malaysia. This is the same country from where he allegedly received a Ledger device that was tampered with.
His comments have also led to more questions over the security of hardware wallets that are sold through third-party vendors. However, it's unclear if there's any link between the two incidents.
Losses may have surpassed $86 million
In the meantime, blockchain investigator Specter estimates the potential thefts have led to losses that have surpassed $86 million.
The blockchain investigator claims it's possible that hundreds of crypto wallets on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron networks may have been affected.
However, Ledger has not confirmed the alleged loss or even whether all the incidents may be related to this one particular reseller.
Ledger has promised to keep the community updated on this investigation. They have also encouraged those who may have been affected by this to reach out to their official support channels.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
