Coldcard bug causes spike in Bitcoin wallet activity, no selling wave

A security flaw in the popular Coldcard hardware wallet is causing a significant spike in Bitcoin wallet activity, but the on-chain data shows that users are moving their coins rather than selling them. That is according to figures from data firm Santiment covering the period from 15 July to 6 August 2026.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• The number of active Bitcoin addresses peaked at 978,570 on 31 July, around 1.6 times the July average.
• Sentiment fell to its lowest level since February, but inflow to exchanges remained below the July average.
• The data points to wallet migration in response to the Coldcard bug, rather than large-scale selling.

Wallet activity spikes after bug discovery

On 31 July, the number of active Bitcoin addresses reached a peak of 978,570 per day. That is roughly 1.6 times the average for the month of July. In the following days, from 1 to 6 August, the daily average stood at around 720,000 addresses. By comparison, the July figure was approximately 610,000. The sudden increase coincides with reports of a vulnerability in the Coldcard hardware wallet, a widely used device for storing Bitcoin offline.

Many users are evidently choosing to move their Bitcoin to a different address or wallet. The fact that activity has remained so high in the first week of August shows that this is not a one-off reaction, but a sustained movement within the community to secure funds.

Sentiment at a low, but exchanges see little additional inflow

Bitcoin user sentiment fell to a score of -540 on the Santiment sentiment balance on 1 August. That is the lowest level since February 2026. The negative mood is understandable: a security flaw in a hardware wallet raises questions about the safety of stored coins and creates unease.

Yet the inflow to exchanges paints a different picture. Between 1 and 6 August, an average of roughly $1.55 billion per day flowed into exchanges, which is lower than the July average of about $1.67 billion. That is a notable finding: if users were selling en masse, one would expect a higher inflow to exchanges. Santiment’s data therefore suggests that the heightened wallet activity is mainly the result of migration, not panic selling. Bitcoin is currently at $64.900, a rise of 0.5% over the past 24 hours.