Hardware Wallets' Worst Nightmare Walks Into a Big-Box Store 🕵️

MediaMarktSaturn, the parent company of European electronics retailer MediaMarkt, has removed all Ledger hardware wallets from its stores and online platforms following reports that devices sold through multiple channels arrived with tampering components. "The MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group has removed all of the manufacturer's products from its stores and online platforms and is in contact with the manufacturer," a spokesperson told Cointelegraph in an email on Tuesday. "We take this incident very seriously."

The European action comes after an X user known as Johannes posted Monday that he purchased two Ledger wallets from separate MediaMarkt locations and found both contained unauthorized cables and cellular modules. His account parallels a disclosure from Ledger itself on Friday, when the company said it was investigating losses tied to devices sold through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis.

Ledger provided an update Tuesday, confirming that the compromised implants were engineered to transmit users' recovery phrases over cellular networks. The company said its investigation now extends beyond CryptoBilis. Separately, former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès said Tuesday that a Ledger Flex purchased at Singapore's airport contained a spy implant. Ledger, asked about that case, referred users to its CryptoBilis update without directly addressing the Singapore report.

Cointelegraph contacted Ledger to ask whether tampered devices had been confirmed in Europe and had not received a response by publication time. The developments come as broader attention turns to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, with some industry voices highlighting custodial solutions such as ETFs as an alternative to self-custody hardware wallets.