Coldcard wallet owners can now use a public online portal to check whether Bitcoin recovered by white-hat researchers may be linked to their addresses.
The recovery concerns about 52.37 BTC associated with Coldcard-related wallet clusters. Galaxy researcher Alex Thorn identified a 21 September Bitcoin transaction containing a Crypto Recovery Trust claims reference and directed affected users to search their public Bitcoin addresses on the trust’s website.
A matching address may allow an owner to begin a claim, although any return of funds will depend on verification. The initial search requires only a public Bitcoin address. Users should not enter a seed phrase or private key.
Mempool’s status record confirmed the transaction was included in block 967,948. In a tracing report published on 21 September, Thorn said the amount represented 2.8% of the funds Galaxy had tracked from the exploit.
He also identified a further 3.0134 BTC sent to the destination from addresses Galaxy had not previously monitored. Thorn said those coins could represent additional white-hat recoveries, but their connection to Coldcard remains unconfirmed.
Digital-asset recovery firm DART said in an 17 August report that it and independent researchers had secured just over 50 BTC, based on its internal ledger. The recovered Bitcoin was transferred to Crypto Recovery Trust.
The transaction identified on 21 September provides a public blockchain trail for the recovery DART had outlined about a month earlier.
What happens after an address is matched?
DART says its trust process includes checks on recovery records, the chain of custody and proof of ownership. That evidence can include source-of-funds documentation and exchange records.
Claims may also be affected by sanctions, competing ownership claims or other restrictions. As a result, the public transaction confirms a link to the recovery disclosure, but it does not establish ownership or guarantee that victims will receive funds.
The issue stems from a flaw in Coldcard seed generation that made some older wallet seeds easier to reconstruct. DART says a seed created using affected firmware remains exposed even after the device is updated.
Owners whose funds may be vulnerable should follow Coldcard’s migration guidance. DART has separately warned users not to submit seed phrases, private keys, PINs or recovery codes through a web form.
The public-address search is only the first stage. Demonstrating ownership of any matched funds is a separate part of the claims process.
