Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier told former Mt. Gox chief Mark Karpelès he is “no white knight” after Karpelès accused the wallet maker of knowing about advanced spy implants in March.
Karpelès argues that clearer warnings at the time could have prevented more than $90 million in user losses.
Did Ledger Ignore Warning Signs for Months?
The former Mt. Gox CEO helped expose the threat after opening a sealed Ledger wallet and finding a hidden circuit board. The implant could capture a wallet’s 24-word recovery phrase and transmit it to criminals.
That phrase gives attackers control over the funds.
Karpelès now argues Ledger knew about sophisticated implants as early as March.
He pointed to a March 6 security guide showing both handmade and mass-produced spy chips. However, the article was updated in September, leaving questions about when those images appeared.
More troublingly, Ledger acknowledges that its Genuine Check cannot detect implants if the original security chip remains intact.
Karpelès believes stronger public warnings could have prevented losses.
Ledger CEO Brings Up the Mt. Gox Collapse
Gauthier initially defended Ledger’s response, urging Karpelès to stick to facts.
Then he made it personal.
“Coming from the Mt Gox CEO… Come on man, you are no white knight. Get real.”
The remark referenced Mt. Gox’s 2014 collapse, when approximately 850,000 Bitcoin went missing under Karpelès’ leadership.
Karpelès responded that his experience was precisely why he expected higher standards.
Meanwhile, Ledger has halted CryptoBilis reseller sales, although reports of tampered devices in Europe have widened concerns.
Rival Trezor has already moved to reduce its reseller network.
For investors holding substantial crypto offline, the dispute exposes a serious weakness: even an authentic hardware wallet cannot guarantee that the device reaching their hands has never been modified
