MediaMarkt Pulls Every Ledger Wallet After a Buyer Finds a Cellular Implant

MediaMarktSaturn has pulled every Ledger product from its stores and online platforms across Europe, after a buyer reported tampering in wallets bought from two separate MediaMarkt locations.

The electronics giant, which owns MediaMarkt and Saturn, confirmed the removal and said it is in contact with the manufacturer. A spokesperson said the group takes the incident very seriously.

What the buyer says he found

A researcher posting as Johannes said he bought Ledger wallets from two different MediaMarkt stores and found the same extras in both: cables that do not belong in the box and a cellular module. Store records for that inventory name Aqipa GmbH as the supplier, he said.

That matters because MediaMarkt and Saturn sit in Ledger's own reseller directory as authorized German retailers. Ledger says it has not verified a theft involving a signer bought elsewhere, and is still examining reports of implants in other devices and locations.

How the implant grabbed the seed

The chip sat inside the device enclosure. When the screen displayed the 24-word recovery phrase during setup, the implant's microcontroller recognized and decoded the words, then sent them out over LTE using an embedded SIM.

Nothing else changed. The secure element and the operating system were untouched, so the wallet passed every standard Genuine Check. The device looked completely normal while the master key walked out the door.

The confirmed cases still point to one reseller

Every confirmed loss in the October 9 incident traces to a device sold by CryptoBilis, which was authorized in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Onchain researchers estimate more than 300 wallets were hit, with losses up to $93.2 million.

Tether froze $10 million in USDT tied to the case. CryptoBilis has stopped shipping all hardware wallet brands, and Trezor removed it from its reseller network. OneKey cut ties while handing out free replacements.

Why this matters if you hold a hardware wallet

Buying from an authorized seller was supposed to be the safe route. This shows a supply chain can be poisoned long before the box reaches the shelf. If you set up a signer bought from a third-party reseller, move the funds to a wallet whose seed was generated on a device you sourced directly.

Then look the casing over for parts that do not belong. A genuine check proves firmware, not hardware.