Suiball, a hardware wallet built specifically for the Sui blockchain, has announced it will shut down and return all pre-order payments. The decision came after the Sui Foundation concluded that continuing to support the project carried excessive security risk amid a series of attacks on hardware wallet makers across the cryptocurrency sector.

In a statement posted on X on November 11, the Suiball team said the project had finished development and moved into manufacturing. The first batch of devices stood ready for shipment when the closure was decided. The team accepted the foundation’s position, noting its priority on protecting users and the broader Sui ecosystem.

Refund Process for Pre-Order Customers

Approximately 80 percent of pre-orders were placed on-chain. Those buyers will receive automatic USDC refunds sent to the wallets that hold the soulbound NFTs issued at the time of reservation. No claims or extra steps are required. The first round of these payments is scheduled within the next week.

Customers who paid by credit card will follow a separate path. Suiball intends to contact them by email and request a Sui wallet address for the refund. Once addresses are collected, a second USDC airdrop will cover the remaining orders.

The team cautioned that it will never ask for seed phrases, private keys, or further payments during the refund process. Buyers should reply only to messages from [email protected]. After all refunds are finished, Suiball will permanently delete customer information gathered for deliveries, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and shipping details, then formally cease operations.

Earlier Delay for Additional Audits

The shutdown follows an October 21 announcement in which Suiball postponed deliveries. After discussions with Mysten Labs and the Sui Network team, the founder said the project would commission further independent security audits expected to take several months.

At that stage the plan still called for eventual shipment once audits concluded. The November decision ends the project before any devices reach customers.

Project Background and Planned Features

Suiball was introduced at SuiFest in Singapore in October 2025 as a hardware wallet designed for the Sui network. Planned capabilities included native support for Sui assets, Bitcoin compatibility, clear signing, and integration with Slush, Sui’s wallet platform. Pre-orders were offered at a discounted price of $149 against a listed retail price of $229.

Recent Hardware Wallet Security Incidents

The foundation’s assessment came against a backdrop of several security events involving established manufacturers. In October, Keystone confirmed a breach that exposed customer names, home addresses, and purchase details after unauthorized access to its website; private keys and recovery phrases were not compromised. Trezor later warned of a suspected malicious implant in a Safe 5 device obtained through a former reseller, involving an extra circuit board and cellular component that could potentially transmit recovery phrases. In August, BitBox addressed two serious vulnerabilities in its BitBox02 and BitBox02 Nova devices, including a flaw that could have allowed malicious firmware installation; no known exploitation was reported.

Suiball has not specified which incidents most influenced the Sui Foundation’s decision to withdraw support.