Billionaire Watch: Zhao urges wallet security after hack

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao urged crypto holders on Sunday to match their security measures to the size of their holdings, days after a reported US$86-million theft tied to a hardware wallet reseller.

Zhao said in an article on X that users should choose self-custody or exchange storage based on their technical skill, according to Benzinga. He wrote that holders should “provide a recovery process without unnecessarily exposing funds during your lifetime,” and said a dead man’s switch can release instructions after prolonged inactivity.

For people who keep funds on exchanges, Zhao warned of counterparty risk and of unexpected contact from someone claiming to be exchange staff, Benzinga reported.

The guidance followed a Ledger-linked incident. Cointribune reported Ledger is investigating fund losses among Southeast Asian users who bought hardware wallets from the reseller CryptoBilis. Ledger has not confirmed the cause or the number of affected devices, the outlet said.

Analyst Specter estimated losses at more than US$86 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tron, while MistTrack put the figure near US$90 million, Cointribune reported. Ledger has asked CryptoBilis to suspend sales and shipments and advised customers who bought devices in the past 90 days not to initialize them.

Zhao said on Oct. 9 that, based on available information, the incident appeared localized to a supply chain attack involving a single seller. He said a small number of people probably bought fake or tampered devices, and advised waiting a few weeks before moving a large sum into a new wallet.

Benzinga also noted a separate Coldcard wallet exploit in August, in which hackers reportedly drained at least 1,700 bitcoin. That figure is attributed to Galaxy Research.

The Ledger incident remains developing, and the cause has not been independently confirmed.

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Via Benzinga and Cointribune.