South Korea NTS Leak Exposes Ledger Seed Phrase; $4.8M PRTG Stolen
South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) accidentally published a press photo showing an unredacted Ledger hardware-wallet seed phrase. The exposed mnemonic gave attackers access to a wallet holding roughly 4 million PRTG tokens (≈$4.8 million), which were moved in three on‑chain transactions soon after the release. Blockchain researchers and Hansung University associate professor Jaewoo Cho confirmed the theft; Cho observed other visible phrases in the image appeared low risk and noted the effective loss may be smaller because PRTG has very low liquidity and limited listings, making conversion to cash difficult. The NTS has not issued a public response. The incident follows earlier South Korean custody failures (notably a 2021 police cold‑wallet loss of 22 BTC) and highlights recurring operational-security gaps in how authorities store seized crypto. For traders: direct market impact on PRTG is likely constrained by the token’s low liquidity and exchange support, but the event raises broader concerns about institutional custody controls, provenance of seized funds, and regulatory competency — factors that can influence market sentiment and prompt increased scrutiny of on‑chain tracking of government-held assets. Primary keywords: seed phrase leak, custody failure, PRTG token, National Tax Service, crypto theft.
Neutral
Impact on the price of PRTG itself is likely neutral-to-bearish but limited. The stolen allocation (≈4 million PRTG) is a large portion of supply by count, but PRTG’s extremely low on‑chain liquidity, minimal daily volume, and narrow exchange listings make rapid large-scale selling difficult without causing a price collapse — and in practice thieves may struggle to convert tokens to fiat. Short-term: volatile price moves or localized dumps could occur if fragments are sold on-market, but broader contagion is unlikely because PRTG is an obscure token. Mid-to-long term: the theft underscores institutional custody weaknesses and could increase regulatory and market scrutiny of seized funds and provenance tracking, marginally eroding trust in government-held crypto but not directly affecting major crypto markets. Traders should watch on‑chain flows, exchange delistings or wash trading attempts, and any NTS response that could affect legal custody or recovery prospects. Overall, the event is primarily a custody/security headline with limited direct price pressure on PRTG due to liquidity constraints, but it raises operational-risk concerns for institutional and seized assets more broadly.