Ledger hardware wallets are no longer for sale at European electronics retailer MediaMarkt Saturn, and the wallet maker has asked sellers in seven Asian markets to stop selling its devices, as its investigation into tampered wallets reaches past a single reseller.
MediaMarkt Saturn stopped selling Ledger devices in its stores and online as of Oct. 13, “with Ledger’s alignment,” Ledger said on X that day. The company said the halt followed a report of an implant from one customer in Germany, and that no loss of funds was reported in that case.
Later on Oct. 13, Ledger asked resellers and distributors in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong to suspend sales of its devices, including pulling them from shelves, while the investigation continues.
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No Verified Drain Elsewhere, Ledger Says
“To be clear, as the investigation continues, the only confirmed incidents remain contained to Southeast Asia,” Ledger wrote. “We have not verified a drain linked to a device bought elsewhere.”
Ledger said it is still working to establish who tampered with the devices and at what point in the distribution chain. It said it had “no indication that Ledger’s infrastructure, systems or services were compromised,” and that its Donjon security team will examine the devices it receives.
“Many claims and figures circulating online are unverified,” the company added.
A Buyer’s Unverified Account
The halt came a day after an X user posting as Johannes (@0xJohannes_) wrote that he had bought a second Ledger at a different MediaMarkt location and found the same modifications as in a first device, including extra cables and an LTE module. He said a store employee told him the device was not a return, and that “store records show the inventory originated from Aqipa GmbH.” He called on Ledger to recall its products and said he was sending the second device to the company for analysis.
Ledger has not confirmed his account, has not named Aqipa, and did not say whether the German customer it referred to is Johannes.
How It Started
The investigation began on Oct. 9, when Ledger asked Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis to pause sales after buyers reported losing funds. Later, Ledger confirmed that one affected user’s device contained “an unauthorized hardware implant.” According to Ledger’s Donjon team, the part captures the recovery phrase shown on screen during setup and sends it out over a cellular connection.
Ledger has said it has not confirmed how many users were affected or how much was lost, and that it is “reviewing reports of implants in other signers and locations.”
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