OneKey founder Yishi says BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT, could be a target for North Korean hackers. His October 30 warning is a risk assessment: the post provides no evidence of an IBIT breach or a specific attack plan against the fund.
I suspect IBIT is already on North Korea’s shortlist.
— Yishi (@ohyishi) October 30, 2026
Yishi argues that keeping private keys offline does not eliminate vulnerabilities in the systems and people approving transactions. He cited the Bybit theft and the Binance hack, saying compromised signing workflows can expose assets without attackers extracting the underlying keys.
IBIT’s 2025 annual report identifies Coinbase Custody as its Bitcoin custodian and Anchorage Digital as an additional custodian. It describes segregated wallets and offline storage for Coinbase-held vault assets, with no single employee having access to complete private keys.
The filing also says neither the trust nor its sponsor insures the fund’s Bitcoin. Coinbase maintains commercial crime coverage shared among customers, which may not cover every loss or be sufficient. Those disclosed limitations could leave shareholders exposed to losses if assets were stolen and recovery or compensation fell short.
Yishi’s broader concern is the concentration of Bitcoin within a small number of custodians as ETF holdings grow. The hardware-wallet founder urged independent checks of transaction details and diversified custody arrangements. His comments do not establish that IBIT’s safeguards have failed or that it will be the attackers’ next victim.
Disclaimer: CoinScreamer is an independent media brand owned and operated by NuvexMedia LLC, publishing news, research, and market insights on digital assets and related technologies. NuvexMedia LLC invests in and collaborates with companies across the digital asset, blockchain, and technology sectors. These relationships do not influence CoinScreamer’s editorial coverage, and the publication maintains full editorial independence to provide accurate, timely, and objective information. © 2025 NuvexMedia LLC. All rights reserved. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice.
