ChainBleedv0.1 · open intel
← back to feed·BITCOIPRIVATE-KEY2021-11-01 · 4y ago
Incident · SLOWMIST

Chivo

Wallet Stolen
Estimated loss
$22.6K
VERDICT —OUT OF SCOPE
Root cause is private-key / signer compromise — the on-chain contract behaved exactly as written. No pre-deployment source audit or bytecode review reaches the key-custody perimeter; this is operational-security territory (HSM/MPC hygiene, key rotation, hot-wallet isolation). Bytecode would show nothing wrong.
▰ METHOD
PRIVATE KEY
PRIVATE-KEY
Root cause

Root-cause analysis not yet published. The incident description below contains all currently available signal — review the attack transaction directly for definitive forensics.

Forensic narrative

Chivo Wallet is a national digital wallet issued by the government of El Salvador on September 7 for the implementation of the Bitcoin Act. To this end, El Salvador promised that users who download and authenticate the Chivo Wallet will receive a $30 bitcoin reward. This move allowed the official wallet of El Salvador to exceed 2 million users in one month. Between October 9th and October 14th, Cristosal, a human rights organization in El Salvador, received 755 notices about Salvadorans reporting that their Chivo wallet identity was stolen. Attack method (per SlowMist): Wallet Stolen. Reported loss: $ 22,650.

Primary source
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/business-58656282
Sourced from
slowmist
Technical record
chain
bitcoin
protocol
Chivo
bug_class
private-key
date_occurred
2021-11-01
loss_usd
$22,650
source_id
sm:chivo::2021-11-01
Related — same bug class· private-key
2026-04-30
1mo ago
MULTI
Wasabi Perps
Admin Key Compromised
private-key
$5.50M
OUT OF SCOPE
2026-04-30
1mo ago
ETH
Wasabi Protocol
Private Key Leakage
private-key
$5.70M
OUT OF SCOPE
2026-04-29
1mo ago
Syndicate Labs
Private Key Leakage
private-key
$380.0K
OUT OF SCOPE
2026-04-21
1mo ago
SUI
Volo Vault
Admin Key Compromised
private-key
$3.50M
OUT OF SCOPE
2026-04-21
1mo ago
SUI
Volo Vaults
Private Key Leakage
private-key
$3.50M
OUT OF SCOPE
2026-04-16
1mo ago
MULTI
Grinex
Hot wallet hack
private-key
$15.00M
OUT OF SCOPE
ChainBleed — live web3 threat intelligence