tl;dr
A couple of concerning tales that I wish I did not have to comment on.
Market Snap
Market Wrap
CPI came in yesterday at 3.7% versus 3.4% in August, and a smidgeon above expectations of 3.6%. 10-year Treasury yields immediately jumped over 9bps with futures pricing in a near doubling of the probability of an interest rate rise at this month’s meeting. All risk assets sold off. The source of the carnage was easy to spot – the jump in the price of refined imports. The motivation for Trump’s dodgy deal with Putin is laid bare.
By the end of the trading day, 10-year yields were lower though stocks only partially recovered. Bond traders may be getting ready for a ramp-up in disguised QE.
Occasional Series – The CCC podcast
I am so excited to let you know that today we are filming (not yet releasing) the very first CCC podcast. Our guest will be the inimitable Helen Disney, who wants to talk to, and perhaps challenge, me on two of my favourite topics – the stablecoin revolution and CBDCs.
It looks like I am going to learn some stuff today, which is no bad thing.
Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Ledger problem
Reports started emerging last week that several Ledger signers appeared to be compromised. New users reported swift draining of their funds soon after setting up their new device. Onchain crypto sleuth Specter claims that more than $86mm has been stolen across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron. Compatriot YFarmX claims that more than 450 wallets have been drained.
Ledger has reported that all confirmed losses can be traced back to Ledger devices sold by reseller CryptoBilis. The cause of the problem was that some devices had an unauthorised hardware implant that reads what is being shown on the screen. When it sees a recovery phrase – which is displayed one time only during the setup process – it “transmits the phrase over LTE using a provisioned eSIM”.
There is no confirmed case of any other signers being compromised. but that is of little solace to those who have lost their crypto bags.
One person has claimed that he has found two more examples within Europe, though this is unconfirmed. Ledger is investigating but it could be a naysayer doing the FUD thing, or just one of those social media inhabitants looking for five minutes of fame.
If you have been using your Ledger for some time now, you didn’t buy from CryptoBilis, and you still have your crypto bags, that is a strong indicator that your personal device has not been compromised.
I am not sure why anyone would ever buy a hardware wallet from anyone but the original manufacturer. I have long thought this – not just a hindsight claim – having received my first device after buying it from Amazon. Noting that the packaging could easily be removed and replaced, I sent it back and have only ever bought from Ledger itself since then.
Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Wrench attacks
CertiK has reported fifty-two verified wrench attacks during the first half of 2026, an increase of a third over the same period last year, with losses that might reach $124mm.
The hotspot is France, accounting for thirty-three of those attacks with another six in Western Europe.
It surely comes as no surprise to you that as a publicly identified crypto commentator, such matters can weigh heavily on my mind. But there are some simple solutions.
The first – and I have made this point before to any feral scumbag out there who is thinking of targeting me – the vast bulk of my cryptos cannot be accessed by me at my home or my workplace. I must go to my bank (no, I am not going to tell you which one) and both a bank representative and I must sign any outgoing transactions. My bank has written instructions that if there are any concerns that I may be acting under coercion, it has the right to refuse co-operation for a period of thirty days.
And let’s not forget that most PoS coins that have been staked are immune to a wrench attack as the request to unstake is rarely instantaneous.
…
Why does this matter?
Both these tales of woe are understandably a deterrent to investors who are considering buying BTC.
In the US, there is the option of buying BTC via the spot ETFs. No-one can steal those investments from your online brokerage account, nor can they sell them and transfer money to anyone else’s bank account except for yours, even if somehow, they gained access to your brokerage account.
The day that spot BTC ETFs become a legal and regulated product in the UK, I would heartily recommend everyone to take advantage of that development. As an insurance cost, the annual fees are small. Unfortunately, that day is somewhat distant. The UK’s antagonism towards cryptos is not thawing despite Andy Burnham’s promises before he became Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, any decent-sized BTC and ETH stash should be secured by using a Ledger Nano stored off-site with multi-sig protection. That isn’t going to work for your portfolio of alt coins that you are presumably planning to sell soon, but those only make up 5-10% of your bags anyway. Losing those would be an irritant, no more than that.