Galaxy's Head of Research: Coldcard May Be Facing Its Fourth Wave of Organized Attacks

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said short-term Bitcoin holders transferred more than 32,000 BTC to centralized exchanges (CEX) on August 1 at a loss, marking one of the largest sell-off loss events in the past month.

Bitcoin hardware wallet manufacturer Coldcard tweeted that the past three days have been among the most difficult in the company’s history, with some users losing years of savings. The team has been in constant contact with customers since last Friday, assisting in transferring still-secure funds and providing recovery guidance. The company has now destroyed remaining Coldcard inventory produced using vulnerable firmware and suspended shipments. Satscard, Opendime, and Tapsigner are unaffected. The released patch firmware prevents newly generated mnemonics from being impacted, but old mnemonics created on the vulnerable firmware remain at risk; users are required to create new wallets and transfer their funds. The company temporarily recommends alternative hardware wallets including Bitkey, Ledger, Trezor, Jade, and Bitbox, and urges affected users to retain their devices to support future recovery efforts.

According to statistics from Onchain Lens, losses from the Coldcard hardware wallet vulnerability have reached $88.6 million. Four attack waves have been recorded so far: The first and second waves saw 1,158.81 BTC stolen from 2,673 victims; the third wave involved 207.73 BTC from 293 monitored P2WSH vaults; the fourth wave remains unconfirmed, possibly affecting 462 victims and totaling 388.93 BTC.

Nvidia Senior Vice President Gilad Shainer announced at a recent tech forum that Co-packaged Optics (CPO) has entered mass production. Switches developed by Nvidia in collaboration with its supply chain have begun delivery to key partners and are already deployed internally at the company. Switches equipped with CPO technology are expected to be widely deployed in AI data centers globally starting this year. Shainer noted that the biggest opportunity in the future optical communications market lies in vertical scaling (Scale-up), which requires over ten times the bandwidth efficiency of horizontal scaling (Scale-out). Shainer previously led R&D at Mellanox; after Nvidia acquired the firm, he headed the AI Platform Network Transmission division and co-developed the COUPE silicon photonic packaging platform with TSMC. This announcement helps dispel market concerns over optical communications specification upgrades and boosts the operational outlook for related vendors. It is reported that Nvidia has already integrated CPO into its Spectrum-X switches, with the goal of supporting the upcoming large-scale deployment of the Vera Rubin AI platform, which delivers at least three times the computing speed of the GB300. Trendforce projects that the CPO/NPO market will exceed $39 billion by 2030, with growth momentum accelerating significantly between 2028 and 2029 as vertical scaling drives the adoption of optical interconnects. Separately, according to BIT (bit.com) market data, as of press time, CPO-related stocks posted modest pre-market gains: AAOI rose 2.63%, LITE gained 1.92%, and MRVL increased 2.4%.

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), two new addresses opened a cumulative 5x long position in KAITO worth $6.94 million (notional value: $7.106 million) on Hyperliquid in the early hours of today, becoming KAITO’s two largest positions. Both addresses sourced their margin from OKX. KAITO has plunged nearly 20% in the past 24 hours, rapidly trimming its month-to-date gains, leaving the two addresses with an unrealized loss of $991,000.

Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on South Korean equities to Overweight, setting a target of 9,000 points, implying 36% upside from current levels. The firm noted that the previous sharp deleveraging cycle is nearing its end, with KOSPI valuations hitting historic lows and presenting a more attractive entry point for investors. Its data shows hedge funds have completed roughly 75% of their deleveraging, while leveraged ETF assets have shrunk by 70% from their peak, leading to a notable improvement in shareholding structure. Shawn Kim, head of Morgan Stanley’s Asia Technology Team, outlined three near-term catalysts for South Korean chip stocks in the report: 1. Capital expenditure: The capital management moves of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seen as the most important near-term catalyst. The market is awaiting specific announcements from the two firms on their "value enhancement" plans and capital returns; timing remains unclear, but the expectation itself acts as a potential catalyst. 2. HBM4 pricing: Samsung Electronics recently stated HBM4 will account for around 60% of its total HBM sales by the end of next year. If HBM4 prices hit market expectations of over $3 per Gb, it will provide a positive boost to overall DRAM pricing in 2026 and 2027. 3. iPhone 18 launch cycle: Mobile devices still make up 30% to 40% of global DRAM demand and 25% to 30% of NAND demand. According to feedback from South Korean Apple supply chain members including LG Innotek, Apple holds a positive outlook on the iPhone 18 cycle, projecting year-over-year shipment growth of 5% to 10%. The iPhone 18 is set to launch in September, with the first batch of models being all Pro series (including Pro, Pro Max, and foldable variants). Strong sales would provide a positive tailwind for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.