Bitcoin Active Addresses Surge Amid Coldcard Firmware Exploit

The recent Coldcard firmware exploit has led to a surge in Bitcoin active addresses. According to Glassnode, the number of daily active addresses reached 0.98 million on July 31, the highest level since December 2024. This 'fear-driven' activity is due to users migrating their funds from vulnerable wallets to alternative custody.

Glassnode described this behavior as an operational security response, rather than a change in market conviction. The analytics firm noted that holders are moving seeds and funds to new, patched hardware, not because they expect the price of Bitcoin to increase or decrease, but out of caution.

The exchange balance has also increased by 22,135 BTC, with Coin Metrics reporting a rise from 2,654,863 on July 29 to 2,676,998 on August 3. The transaction count, however, moved in the opposite direction, processing 607,581 transactions on July 31, below the monthly average.

Coinkite, the Canadian firm behind Coldcard, warned users that seeds generated with vulnerable firmware versions are at risk of being compromised, and advised them to migrate their funds regardless of whether they have patched their firmware or not. The company emphasized that a strong passphrase does not repair an affected seed and only makes it harder for attackers to access the funds.