ColdCard vs Ledger

[ranochigo]

I'm currently using a Raspberry Pi as my primary cold storage, airgapped with Electrum. Don't get me wrong, it's a $35 set up and it provides reasonable safeguards against non-physical attacks (and I don't hold lots of Bitcoins).

I'm considering to get a ColdCard as well, it looks great and I liked the simplicity of the design. However, given the hefty price tag and the functions, I'm not sure if I want to splurge that much money for something that I don't exactly need right now. I can't exactly find recent reviews within the forum on MK3 as well. Would like to gather some inputs from the community between CC Mk3 and Ledger.


Ps. I know that any hardware wallet would be more secure than an air gapped RPI so please don't spam the thread up with that.

[dkbit98]

I don't recommend anyone to buy ledger and I was looking to replace my old legder crap wallet because of the problems they have for months with database leaks, slow support and because it is not open source.

ColdCard is on top of my buy list because it is fully open source, air-gapped and there is no mentioned problems like with ledger or some other wallets, but it does not support altcoins, and this is actually a good thing for me, but some people maybe don't like this.

There is currently Black Friday deal for ColdCard MK3 so you can buy it for $101.97, but I would still consider ordering on some alternative address or PO box, or buy it in your local shop if possible.
https://store.coinkite.com/store/coldcard

[NeuroticFish]

I like what ColdCard is advertised for, but if you don't keep so many coins, the price tag may be important.
I had the same logic myself and bought a Ledger (nano s). No problems until now, but I use it with Electrum.
I also agree with @dkbit98 that Ledger Live is crap. About the support I can't really tell.

However, I suggest you focus on Ledger or Trezor, exactly because of what they do vs their cost.
And you've picked a great period for buying, the price should be reduced for most products until maybe even January, just watch their websites and social media.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I like what ColdCard is advertised for, but if you don't keep so many coins, the price tag may be important.

I'm not familiar with the ColdCard, so I clicked on the link dkbit98 provided and took a look at it.  Looks pretty neat to me, although it does seem kind of expensive, especially since it only holds bitcoin.  OP, if you've got the money and don't mind paying the price for one, I say go for it.  I like Raspberry Pis, but they're certainly not ideal for cold storage (as far as I know).

As a side note, that Coinkite store website has some very interesting items on it, including that Opendime device that I'll have to look into.

I also agree with @dkbit98 that Ledger Live is crap. About the support I can't really tell.

Hate to admit it because I'm a Ledger fan, but it's true.  Ledger Live leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm not sure if I want to splurge that much money for something that I don't exactly need right now.

Well, I'd say if you don't absolutely need it and aren't storing a lot of bitcoins anyway, maybe hold off until the price comes down or when you actually need a wallet like that.  I don't know about you, but I've bought HW wallets (and other tech) impulsively before, but I usually haven't regretted it.

[HCP]

Pretty much a "What is more important to you?" type question...

If you're overly cost sensitive, then the Ledger/Trezor options are probably the "best" for your situation... if you don't want to support a company that has relatively poor customer support and a history of somewhat dubious development decisions (why fix long standing bugs when we can implement support for shitcoin#5435344! ), then the Ledger might not be your best bet and you'd perhaps be wanting a Coldcard or Trezor.

Trezor obviously has the "seed extraction" vulnerability, so requires either using the BIP39 passphrase (and/or the SD encryption functionality of the model T)

Coldcard has not experienced any major vulnerabilities that I'm aware of, but obviously comes with a higher price tag.


You'll need to figure out what your particular requirements/constraints are and choose accordingly.

[ranochigo]

(why fix long standing bugs when we can implement support for shitcoin#5435344! ), then the Ledger might not be your best bet and you'd perhaps be wanting a Coldcard or Trezor.

Trezor obviously has the "seed extraction" vulnerability, so requires either using the BIP39 passphrase (and/or the SD encryption functionality of the model T)

Coldcard has not experienced any major vulnerabilities that I'm aware of, but obviously comes with a higher price tag.


You'll need to figure out what your particular requirements/constraints are and choose accordingly.

Great point. I quite like the looks of ColdCard as well though they were actually affected by a vulnerability within the secure element (which isn't that big of a concern for me, doubt anyone would take it for an 200k sidechannel attack).

I'll probably purchase a ColdCard soon and post a review on it once I've had sometime to inspect and use it. The price tag for Ledger with the shipping actually makes it more expensive than a ColdCard, I'll probably get a Ledger if I find any on sale on the forum in the future, just as a collection.

Thanks all for the response!

[bob123]

Please keep in mind, that software (or hardware) which isn't used that much, also isn't being tested that much.

I am not aware of security researcher finding severe vulnerabilities in the cold card yet.
But i am pretty sure this is not due to the fact that it's pretty much secure, but because only a handful of people did look at it to examine it.

The safest bet in terms of hardware wallets would definitely be to get a ledger or trezor. With them, you at least know what you get.
On the other hand, if one isn't fully exploiting the pro's of a hardware wallet (e.g. always used with infected computers, letting everyone have physical access to it, ...), then most somewhat well known hardware wallets are fine.

[dkbit98]

Never use or buy closed source wallets that leak customer information like ledger, and never trust paid shillers.

ColdCard is existing for years and it is used, tested and recommended by many experienced bitcoin users including Jameson Lopp:
https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/recommended-wallets.html

It is probably safest existing hardware wallet that is fully Open Source, but keep in mind that nothing is 100% secure.

[Husna QA]

Please keep in mind, that software (or hardware) which isn't used that much, also isn't being tested that much.

I am not aware of security researcher finding severe vulnerabilities in the cold card yet.
But i am pretty sure this is not due to the fact that it's pretty much secure, but because only a handful of people did look at it to examine it.
-snip-

Regardless of whether there is a security vulnerability in Coldcard or not, I've read that Coldcard has also been used in the "Using Bitcoin Core with Hardware Wallets" test:
https://gist.github.com/achow101/a9cf757d45df56753fae9d65db4d6e1d#using-bitcoin-core-with-hardware-wallets

And Wasabi wallet also supports hardware wallet connections using Coldcard:
https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/using-wasabi/ColdWasabi.html#connecting-coldcard-via-sd-card


https://wasabiwallet.io/