Tampered Ledger Wallets in Singapore Report $2.7M in Losses

The Singapore Police Force says at least two cases involving tampered Ledger hardware wallets have been reported since Sept. 10, with combined losses of approximately S$3.5 million (US$2.7 million). The first local report came almost a month before Ledger issued a public warning on Oct. 9, raising questions about whether the company or police were informed in time to issue an earlier alert. Singapore’s Oct. 28 consumer advisory said the investigation remained at a preliminary stage and did not clarify whether the Sept. 10 case was reported immediately or retrospectively.

Ledger said tampered devices were found in the CryptoBilis supply chain, with nearly $100 million drained from wallets containing spyware components. On Oct. 13, the hardware-wallet maker asked retailers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong to suspend Ledger sales while investigations continue. Users who purchased devices through affected channels are advised to verify their hardware and transfer funds to a new wallet if tampering is suspected.

In other regional crypto developments, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joined Singapore’s BLOOM initiative, a public-private project intended to support stablecoins and tokenized deposits for cross-border payments. Launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, BLOOM also includes Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa and the World Bank Group. A separate DBS survey found that almost 90% of 422 global businesses are adopting or interested in tokenized cash to speed up payments.

South Korean officials are also considering a fourth delay to the country’s cryptocurrency tax policy, which is currently scheduled to take effect in January 2027. According to Newsis, the crypto income tax could be pushed to 2029, extending the government’s repeated efforts to postpone the implementation of the levy.