Malaysian Hardware Wallet Distributor CryptoBilis Reports Ownership Change During Investigation of Alleged Supply Chain Attack on Ledger Devices
Malaysian hardware wallet distributor CryptoBilis has reported an ownership change during the investigation into an alleged supply chain attack on Ledger devices. Company records show that Jiaming, registered at an address in Heilongjiang, China, has held 100% of the company's shares since August 3.
Former co-founders of CryptoBilis confirmed that the company was acquired in March this year, and the original shareholders subsequently exited all operational, management, and administrative roles. The founding team has been unable to understand the actual operational situation of the company after the handover, only continuing to assist with some coordination of activities.
The former co-founders emphasized that they are no longer part of the company and urged the current management to provide transparent explanations regarding the situation. The information about the ownership change surfaced while CryptoBilis is under scrutiny for its alleged involvement in the supply chain attack on Ledger hardware wallets.
The related devices are said to have been implanted with hidden modules capable of stealing recovery phrases, but there is currently no conclusive evidence linking the ownership change to the theft of wallets. CryptoBilis has temporarily suspended the sale and shipment of all branded hardware wallets at its stores and online channels in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and has closed its physical stores until further notice.
CryptoBilis is an official authorized distributor of Ledger, covering the aforementioned three countries, and also sells hardware wallets from other brands. The company was established around 2020 and is headquartered in Malaysia.
Ledger is investigating reports of financial losses from Southeast Asian users who purchased devices from this distributor and has requested it to suspend the sale and shipment of Ledger devices. On-chain estimates suggest that the suspicious losses exceed $86 million, but the reasons and specific connections have yet to be confirmed.
The ownership change occurred months before the investigation was launched, and the flow of funds and attribution of responsibility remain to be further verified, putting pressure on the trust in the distributor's channels and hardware wallet distribution network, with the beneficiaries yet to be identified.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
CryptoBilis was established around 2020 in Malaysia as an official authorized distributor of Ledger, covering Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and selling multi-brand hardware wallets. The acquisition was completed in March 2026, with the original shareholders exiting all operational, management, and administrative roles, and ownership held 100% by Jiaming, registered at an address in Heilongjiang, China, since August 3.
The original shareholders only assist with activity coordination after the handover and no longer participate in actual operations, indicating a complete transfer of control. The current management has suspended sales of all brands and closed stores during the investigation into Ledger-related financial losses, while independent experts review business processes. There is currently no public evidence establishing a direct link between the ownership change and the device implantation allegations.
Similar situations have been observed with other regional authorized distributors experiencing ownership or control adjustments following security incidents, such as some consumer electronics or security hardware channels changing their controlling parties after supply chain disputes. The current hardware wallet distribution is transitioning from a loose authorization model to stricter channel traceability and responsibility delineation.
Essentially, this reflects a restructuring of the industry chain: as authorized distributors act as intermediaries between manufacturers and end users, changes in their control can affect the traceability of the device delivery chain. The mechanism is that when a security incident triggers, the exit of original shareholders shifts the investigation focus to the new controlling party and delivery processes, with manufacturers cutting risks by suspending a single channel, while distributors expand the suspension range for self-protection, ultimately pushing the industry to demand higher standards for the physical integrity and ownership transparency of authorized channels.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- Ownership change is a signal, not evidence.
- Control of authorized channels determines delivery boundaries.
- After exiting operations, responsibility may still be questioned.