Suiball, the hardware wallet built for the Sui blockchain, is shutting down before shipping a single device and will refund its pre-orders in USDC. Suiball said early Wednesday that the Sui Foundation had decided backing a hardware wallet was too risky after a run of attacks on such devices across the industry. The foundation, which promoted the launch more than a year ago, had not commented publicly by Wednesday morning UTC.
What Suiball said
The team said the device had gone into manufacturing and that it was ready to ship the first batch to buyers. “After a wave of recent hardware wallet attacks across the industry, the Sui Foundation decided the risk of backing a hardware wallet project was too high right now,” the announcement said. Suiball added that it understood the decision and that “Sui puts the security of its users and ecosystem first.”
It did not say which attacks it meant, how many devices had been built or how many pre-orders it had taken. It also did not say what the foundation’s backing had covered. “After years of intense development and a finished, working product, it’s hard to say that we have to close Suiball down,” the team wrote.
That account comes from Suiball alone. A check of the Sui, Sui Foundation and Mysten Labs accounts on X on Wednesday morning UTC found no mention of the shutdown, and crypto.news and other outlets that reported the closure relied on the same announcement.
How the refunds will work
Suiball split buyers into two groups. On-chain pre-orders, which it put at about 80% of orders, will be refunded in USDC airdropped to whichever wallet holds the soulbound pre-order NFT issued at purchase. Those buyers do not need to do anything, and Suiball said this would happen within the next week.
Buyers who paid by credit card will get an email asking for a Sui wallet address, and Suiball will run a second USDC airdrop once those addresses come in. It gave no date for that round. The announcement did not say whether refunds would match the price each buyer paid or be converted at some other rate; it only said refunds would be paid in USDC.
Suiball also said it will permanently delete the names, emails, shipping addresses and phone numbers collected for delivery once refunds are complete, and will then close.
The phishing risk is the immediate one
A wind-down that involves emails, wallet addresses and airdrops is an obvious opening for scammers. Suiball said it will never ask for a seed phrase, private key or any payment, and told buyers to reply only to emails from info@citadelwallet.io. The airdrop to on-chain buyers needs no claim, so any site asking holders to connect a wallet or sign a transaction to collect a refund is not part of the official process. Attackers have used hijacked or fake front ends to drain wallets this week, as in the Across domain hijack.
The customer list itself is a target too. When Ledger’s e-commerce database leaked in 2020, the public dump held names, postal addresses and phone numbers for about 272,000 customers, Ledger said at the time, and its chief executive acknowledged that many customers had been hit by email and SMS phishing. Suiball’s promise to delete its delivery data addresses that risk directly, though buyers have only its word that it is done.
Thirteen months from launch to closure
Suiball was built by Citadel Wallet and unveiled at SuiFest in Singapore. The Sui Foundation published the launch on the Sui blog on Oct. 1, 2025, describing it as the first Sui-native hardware wallet, with clear signing, integration with the Slush wallet, native Bitcoin support and a 35% pre-order discount. That post was still live on Wednesday.
So was the pre-order page. When AltcoinReporter checked suiball.com on Wednesday, it still listed the device at $179 against a $229 list price, with a pre-order button and no mention of the shutdown or refunds. It was not clear whether new orders could still go through. The Sui Foundation’s comments, if it makes any, would show whether it has wider concerns about hardware wallets or only about this project.
FAQ
Do Suiball buyers need to do anything to get a refund?
Not if they ordered on-chain. Suiball said USDC will be airdropped to the wallet holding the pre-order NFT within a week. Card buyers will receive an email asking for a Sui wallet address.
Why did Suiball shut down?
Suiball said the Sui Foundation judged that backing a hardware wallet was too risky after recent attacks on such devices. The foundation had not commented publicly by Wednesday morning UTC.
How can buyers avoid refund scams?
Suiball said it will never ask for a seed phrase, private key or payment, and that buyers should only reply to emails from info@citadelwallet.io.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
