New Bitcoin Addresses Surpass 330,000 Following Coldcard Vulnerability: 1,816 BTC Loss in the Spotlight

The number of new addresses on the Bitcoin network has surpassed 330,000 as users migrate their assets to new wallets due to a security vulnerability in Coldcard hardware wallets.

The trend of creating new addresses on the Bitcoin network rebounded sharply last week after a decline that persisted through much of 2026. According to on-chain data, the number of new addresses rose from approximately 260,000 to over 330,000. This movement is believed to be linked to the wallet changes initiated following the Coldcard vulnerability.

Individuals using Coldcard hardware wallets developed by Coinkite have lost at least 1,816 Bitcoin (BTC) in four separate waves of theft since July 30. The theft of assets worth approximately $116 million was reportedly caused by a security flaw in a software version used in 2021.

Coldcard users are moving their Bitcoin assets

The bug caused wallets to use a weak software-based random number generator instead of the device’s hardware randomness source when generating recovery phrases. This significantly reduced the security of wallet keys and made it easier for attackers to guess previously created wallets through offline methods.

Coinkite called on users who created wallets between March 2021 and the release of the security update to migrate their assets to newly created wallets. This recommendation emerged as one of the primary reasons for the increase in the number of new Bitcoin addresses.

The incident demonstrated that while self-custody methods, which leave the control of assets directly to the user, eliminate counterparty risk, they do not provide full protection against software and hardware errors. The increasing attacks have led investors to re-compare self-custody options with custodial services such as centralized exchanges and exchange-traded funds.