Trust Wallet Launches Compensation Portal for Chrome Browser Exploit Victims

Trust Wallet just opened the floodgates—for reimbursements. The crypto wallet giant launched a dedicated compensation portal for users hit by a recent Chrome browser extension exploit, turning a security headache into a rare case of corporate accountability in the wild west of web3.

The Setup: How a Browser Bug Became a Wallet Wound

It started with a vulnerability in the Chrome extension—not in Trust Wallet's core code, but in the bridge between browser and blockchain. The exploit didn't need fancy social engineering; it just needed a user to interact with a malicious site while the extension was active. A classic case of the weakest link being the one you didn't think to reinforce.

The Response: From Damage Control to Damage Payment

Instead of hiding behind legalese or blaming third-party infrastructure, Trust Wallet built a portal. Users submit their wallet addresses and transaction details. The team verifies claims against on-chain data from the exploit period. It's a manual, messy process—but it's happening. No vague promises, no 'lessons learned' press releases without action. Just a form, a review, and a path to getting funds back.

The Bigger Picture: Security Theater vs. Real Safeguards

The crypto industry loves to talk about 'self-custody' and 'being your own bank.' This incident highlights the flip side: when you're your own bank, you're also your own security guard, fraud investigator, and insurance claims department. Trust Wallet's move is a step toward shifting some of that burden back to the service provider—a concept so radical in crypto it almost feels like traditional finance. Almost.

One cynical finance jab? In TradFi, you get FDIC insurance up to $250k for free. In crypto, you get a Google Form and hope the company that just got hacked has enough reserves to make you whole. Progress, we guess.

The exploit was a black eye. The compensation portal is the ice pack. It won't stop the next attack, but it sets a new, higher bar for what happens after the damage is done. In an ecosystem where exit scams are still a Tuesday, that's not nothing. Now, about those cold wallet recommendations...

Trust Wallet launches compensation package for its users

In its statement, Trust Wallet mentioned that affected users can now submit claims through an official support FORM hosted on its portal. The process requires victims of the hack to provide their email address, compromised wallet addresses, country of residence, the hacker’s receiving addresses, and relevant transaction details.

Trust Wallet has also promised to compensate every user affected by the mishap.

“We are working around the clock to finalize the compensation process details, and each case requires careful verification to ensure accuracy and security,” Trust Wallet wrote on X.

The wallet provider confirmed that approximately $7 million in digital assets were siphoned from different wallets across multiple blockchains. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, more than $4 million in stolen funds have been moved through centralized exchanges like ChangeNOW, FixedFloat, and KuCoin.

The blockchain security firm highlighted that the hacker still holds more than $2.8 million in his wallets as of the last update. Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, which acquired Trust Wallet in 2018, confirmed on X that the company will cover all the affected losses.

“So far, $7m affected by this hack. TrustWallet will cover,” Zhao wrote on X, assuring the public that user funds “are SAFU.”

Speaking about the exploit, Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen noted that users who logged into the extension before December 26 at 11 AM UTC were potentially affected. Chen mentioned that during its investigation, the company discovered that a leaked Chrome Web Store API key was used to publish a compromised extension on December 24 at 12:32 PM UTC, bypassing the company’s internal release process.

Hackers targeted users’ wallet seed phrases

The malicious code was identified by SlowMist, with the blockchain security firm noting that it was designed to harvest wallet seed phrases using a modified open-source analytics library. Mobile application users and those running other versions of the browser extension were not affected by the incident. Trust Wallet’s Chrome extension has about one million users, according to its Web Store listing.

This development comes at a time when Coinbase mentioned that it WOULD reimburse more than $400 million to affected users and repair other damages after it apprehended a support agent who was linked to a massive security breach earlier this year in India.

The arrest was confirmed by Coinbase and the Indian police and comes months after hackers bribed support staff to steal user information.

The breach, which began in May, saw the hackers ask for a $20 million ransom, and the company faced a $400 million fallout.

“What these attackers were doing was finding Coinbase employees and contractors based in India who were associated with our business process outsourcing or support operations, that kind of thing, and bribing them to obtain customer data,” said Philip Martin, Coinbase’s Chief Security Officer.

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