Key Takeaways
- Mark Karpelès, former Mt. Gox CEO, alleges Ledger was alerted to suspicious hardware implants in December 2025.
- He contends that improved transparency could have stopped losses exceeding $90 million linked to reseller CryptoBillis.
- Ledger’s spokesperson Gauthier rejected the accusations and referenced Karpelès’ history with Mt. Gox.
- While Ledger maintains the breach is confined to Southeast Asia, Karpelès insists it extended to additional territories.
- Competing wallet manufacturers Trezor and OneKey have since eliminated third-party sellers and strengthened their supply chain protocols.
Mark Karpelès, who previously led the defunct Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange, has openly challenged hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger. His criticism focuses on what he characterizes as an inadequate reaction to early alerts regarding malicious hardware concealed within devices.
The dispute stems from a supply chain compromise involving CryptoBillis, an authorized Ledger distributor. Customers who purchased devices through this reseller suffered combined losses surpassing $90 million.
December 2025 Alerts Allegedly Ignored
According to Karpelès, Ledger was notified about suspicious hardware modifications as far back as December 2025. He pointed out that the company’s sole public acknowledgment came through a blog post addressing the breach in March 2026.
He maintains that more transparent and timely disclosure would have mitigated the financial damage. “I do know a better communication on this at the time could have saved 90+ million USD in losses,” Karpelès stated on X.
He expressed bewilderment at the company’s apparent lack of urgency regarding what he described as “mass-produced advanced implants.”
Karpelès acknowledged his own shortcomings during his tenure at Mt. Gox. However, he explained that he expected more from Ledger, stating he “trusted you to do better by learning of my failure.”
Company Dismisses Allegations
Gauthier, representing Ledger, pushed back against the accusations. He characterized Karpelès’ statements as virtue signalling while highlighting the executive’s troubled history at Mt. Gox.
The public disagreement between the two figures took on a personal tone. This shift diverted attention from the central issue: whether proactive measures could have prevented the attack and protected user funds.
Karpelès further alleged that Ledger minimized the incident’s scope. He claimed the company framed it as exclusively affecting CryptoBillis customers, despite evidence of similar compromised devices appearing in different geographic areas.
Ledger has challenged assertions that devices in Europe were compromised. This conclusion followed the company’s investigation of a suspected case originating in Germany.
Karpelès disputed this narrow assessment, asserting the attack extended beyond Southeast Asia. He revealed that he personally assisted multiple users in examining their devices for evidence of manipulation.
He called on Ledger to provide more comprehensive guidance. “An end user doesn’t know that, and shouldn’t have to worry if their device is altered or not,” he emphasized.
Numerous cryptocurrency community members expressed support for Karpelès. They urged Ledger to adopt greater transparency regarding the security incident.
In early October, Ledger officially acknowledged that devices distributed by CryptoBillis contained unauthorized modifications. These implants captured users’ recovery seed phrases and transmitted them to an external server controlled by attackers.
Ledger suspended all sales through CryptoBillis and imposed a broader halt on distribution throughout Southeast Asia. Total losses attributed to the attack eventually exceeded $100 million.
Rival hardware wallet producers, including Trezor and OneKey, responded by terminating relationships with third-party distributors. They simultaneously implemented stricter oversight of their supply chain operations.
As of October 18, Ledger continues to assert that the compromise remains isolated to Southeast Asia. Karpelès and other industry observers maintain that the attack has affected users in additional regions.
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