The hardware wallets industry is taking a huge hit in 2026, and Ledger's supply chain exploit set a certain fact in stone: no wallet is secure, no algorithm is uncrackable. As a reminder: back in October, Ledger confirmed the placement of an unauthorized electronic plate inside of their device sold via reseller CryptoBills.
Units sold in Southeast Asia had an exploit which allowed illicit actors to steal recovery phrases during the setup of the wallet.
Most likely outcome for the cybersecurity industry would be AI protecting itself from AI-based reverse-engineering. This is not taking into consideration things like one happened with Ledger.
Suiball closes before the first shipment
Sui Hardware wallet is no different: they understand the risks and take them seriously on such extent where they simply decide not to ship it, avoiding unnecessary risks. Suiball, a hardware wallet built natively for Sui, announced its closure on November 11, after the Sui Foundation decided that backing a hardware wallet project is too risky after the recent attacks across the industry.
Source: Suiball
Surprisingly, the first batch of wallets have already been developed, manufactured and ready to be sent out to the first owners. However, the Sui Foundation decided to play it safe and avoid potential issues with those who might want to reverse-engineer the wallet or plant a backdoor somewhere along the supply chain.
The recent Fable 5.2 release suggests an advanced level of work with electronics, hardware devices and firmwares, which is the exact field hackers might need to attack hardware wallets using AI. Anthropic states that Fable 5.2, released on November 9, designed three working devices from one-paragraph prompts.
Those devices went through the whole cycle with its partner Diode, including schematics, circuit boards and firmware. Luckily, there's no proven link between the Fable 5.2 release and Suiball's closure, as the project hasn't mentioned AI at all.
How refunds will work
Most of the hardware wallets pre-orders were on-chain, so users will simply receive their USDC back.
Around 80% of all orders were placed this way, and refunds will reach the wallets holding the soulbound pre-order NFTs within a week. Users do not need to take any action.
Users who purchased their wallets with credit or debit cards will also receive their funds back. But in order to get refunded successfully, Sui urges buyers to contact them by email first. After the refund is completed, all personal data of purchasers will be deleted.