Coldcard Crisis Shifts Bitcoin Habits: Active Addresses Near 1 Million Mark
The security vulnerability in Coldcard hardware wallets, unlike the FTX collapse, has caused investors to move their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings from personal wallets to centralized exchanges.
While security crises in the crypto world typically drive investors away from exchanges, the Coldcard incident has completely reversed this habit. The loss of millions of dollars due to a software flaw in hardware wallets has pushed retail investors to seek refuge once again in the safe harbor of centralized platforms. According to CryptoQuant data, daily Bitcoin transfers in amounts smaller than 10 BTC reached 7,300 BTC on July 31, hitting a 6-month high.
In charts showing network activity, the number of active addresses was at 645,000 on July 30 and surged to nearly the 1 million mark just one day later. This sharp increase was recorded as the highest level seen since December 2024. Experts state that a large portion of this growth stems from addresses sending assets to exchanges.
Bitcoin Investors Rush to Exchanges for Security
This mass movement reflects the exact opposite behavior seen during the FTX bankruptcy in 2022. While retail investors moved their assets to personal wallets to avoid exchange insolvency risks during the FTX era, they have now transferred their holdings to giant exchanges like Binance, Kraken, and OKX to escape hardware wallet risks. The total volume of transfers smaller than 1 BTC reached 39,600 BTC, coming very close to the 39,900 BTC level seen the day after FTX’s bankruptcy filing.
Timechainindex data confirms a total net inflow of 11,163 BTC to exchanges on July 31. The total amount of Bitcoin on centralized exchanges rose from 2,703,837 BTC before the incident to 2,715,000 BTC. This situation is viewed as either a potential source of temporary selling pressure or simply investors seeking a safe haven. Nevertheless, it is emphasized that this crisis is a technical flaw specific to Coldcard rather than a general system error.