Coldcard Hack Drains $120 Million, Floods Bitcoin Memory Pool

Not even air-gapped hardware wallets are immune to nine-figure losses. A reported exploit tied to a Coldcard device has drained $120 million, the original report notes, and the immediate chain reaction hit Bitcoin’s transaction queue hard.

The memory pool—already a reliable gauge of network stress—ballooned as unknown actors broadcast a flurry of transfers in quick succession, likely to obfuscate fund flows or front-run pending consolidations.

On-chain data showed unconfirmed transaction counts spiking well above typical weekday averages within minutes. Fee rates followed, with some users reporting that even mid-priority transactions needed several dollars in sats per vbyte to get picked up in the next block.

For anyone trying to move funds or rebalance positions during early Asian hours, the congestion turned routine transfers into a costly wait.