A white-hat operator has transferred 52.37 BTC rescued from the Coldcard exploit to a Crypto Recovery Trust address in Wyoming. Recorded at Bitcoin block 967,948, the transfer of secured funds marks the first step for theft victims to recover their assets.
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn confirmed the movement of funds. The 52.37 BTC rescued represents 2.8% of the 1,830 BTC currently scattered across 9,162 vulnerable addresses being closely tracked by the Galaxy team. In addition to the primary assets, the transfer also swept an extra 3.0134 BTC from previously undetected addresses, which are strongly suspected to belong to Coldcard wallet users affected by the exploit.
Securing 40% of Second-Wave Funds
In total, the white-hat operator secured roughly 40% of all Bitcoin targeted by hackers in the second wave of Coldcard attacks. Security researcher Nick Bax from the SEAL 911 team stated he stepped in to help rescue around 50 BTC in late July, as the victims’ funds were on the verge of being stolen.
On August 17, the Digital Asset Recovery Trust (DART) released a corroborating report regarding the securing of more than 50 BTC from various vulnerable addresses. The entire transfer of victim assets to the Wyoming trust was executed through a single large transaction with ID 38b524ccb8ca260ec705ab980982144857c477658fa39591870ee8cb09bcea47. The on-chain maneuver, featuring 20 inputs and 480 outputs, included a straightforward OP_RETURN message reading: ‘claim:cryptorecoverytrust dot com’.
How Can Victims Claim Their Funds?
Crypto Recovery Trust operates as a formal statutory trust in the state of Wyoming under the legal name Recovered Digital Asset Statutory Trust of Wyoming. Agentic Trace LLC serves as the trustee responsible for managing all assets held within it.
The claims process for affected Coldcard wallet holders is now open. Victims can submit their wallet addresses directly on the cryptorecoverytrust.com website. However, disbursements will not happen immediately. The trust requires a series of cross-verification steps, ranging from blockchain transaction history reviews and proof of legitimate wallet ownership to sanctions screening procedures, ensuring funds are returned to their rightful, legal owners.
This legally grounded recovery phase follows an ongoing pursuit of victim assets, coming in the wake of a subsequent incident where third-wave Coldcard attackers moved 45% of their stolen Bitcoin to a different new address.
Recovering funds for crypto hack victims often entails years of costly litigation. White-hat interventions routed through formal trust entities now offer a shortcut, though wallet owners must ultimately relinquish a layer of anonymity to reclaim their assets.
Reported via Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
