What Went Wrong with Coldcard: A Deep Dive into the Hack

How did 1,500+ Bitcoin, worth over a hundred million dollars, vanish from hardware wallets, and what does it mean for anyone holding their own coins?

Tim joins Honest Money to break down the Coldcard wallet exploit, the technical flaws behind it, and the hard lessons it holds for Bitcoin self-custody. From weak entropy generation to the growing role of AI in both attacking and defending wallets, Tim explains what went wrong and how to make sure it doesn't happen to you.

This conversation explores how the exploit worked, why open source matters for security, and the best practices that keep your Bitcoin safe in an evolving threat landscape.

🎙️ EPISODE SUMMARY

Tim and Anja discuss the Coldcard hack, hardware wallet security, and how to protect your Bitcoin.

The conversation moves from the details of the exploit and the scale of the losses, through the law enforcement and recovery challenges, to the technical flaws in the firmware and entropy generation that made the breach possible. Tim explains why open source software fosters security through transparency, and what real self-custody discipline looks like.

The episode also examines best practices for creating and protecting your seed, the lessons every Bitcoiner should take from this event, and the future of hardware wallet security as AI reshapes both the threats and the defenses.

🔗 FEATURED LINKS

Galaxy Research: https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research

Galaxy HQ on X: https://x.com/galaxyhq

Alex Thorne on X: https://x.com/intangiblecoins

Red Team First Responders: https://opensats.org/blog/code-red-supporting-first-responders