CatCard hardware wallet

[dkbit98]

Coldcard is dead. Long live the Catcard!

   

We all know what happened with coldard crap, but there might be a chance for saving your old devices with new open source firmware.
Mark Karpele, well know ex CEO of Mt.Gox exchange is currently working on experimental open-source firmware for coldcard hardware, written from scratch in Rust.
I don't know if I would trust Mark with this one, until is checked by other developers, but it's better than nothing.
There is only Bitcoin support at the moment, but Mark said he is going to create separate multichain release in future.
There are several improvements in code, but use this at your won risk.

Source code:
https://github.com/TibaneLabs/catcard

PS
nvk must be having having a nervous breakdown right now

[BitMaxz]

Nahhh.... It's no longer safe to use; it's better to develop a new firmware for games instead or turn the cold card Q into a Game Boy and the MK5 into a calculator. That's the best use of them since, based on the news that I heard, this device records data physically, including pins and backups.

So it's not good to reuse them and I don't trust any  people from MT.Gox.

[Pmalek]

Nahhh.... It's no longer safe to use; it's better to develop a new firmware for games instead or turn the cold card Q into a Game Boy and the MK5 into a calculator. That's the best use of them since, based on the news that I heard, this device records data physically, including pins and backups.

Someone was quicker than this Catcard guy. At the beginning of August, Pastor Coin created a game for the Coldcard called The Bitcoin Dungeon.
https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/2084625182992347385
You run around various levels collecting bitcoin and keys, trying to escape the banker and fiat rats. You unlock doors by typing in passwords on Coldcard's keyboard, etc.

[Forsyth Jones]

Wow... I love cats, I think they’re among the cutest intelligent creatures on our planet, and the name Catcard really fits, but the caveat that worries me a bit is the fact that the project owner is the former CEO of Mt. Gox...

It even has a few little games to keep things low-key, in addition to the calc mode.

I have a feeling that if this project moves forward, it'll be better than Coinkite’s official firmware, people will trust this firmware version more than the official one, hahaha. Bitcoin never ceases to amaze me.

PS
nvk must be having having a nervous breakdown right now

I hope he has some milk with oatmeal for breakfast to calm his nerves.

[joker_josue]

Nahhh.... It's no longer safe to use; it's better to develop a new firmware for games instead or turn the cold card Q into a Game Boy and the MK5 into a calculator. That's the best use of them since, based on the news that I heard, this device records data physically, including pins and backups.

So it's not good to reuse them and I don't trust any  people from MT.Gox.

They'll eventually turn this pile of trash into something useful, even if it's just something for the children to play with.

Perhaps this is one of the many "comical" projects that will emerge.
It's just a shame it doesn't have sound. 

[m2017]

Someone was quicker than this Catcard guy. At the beginning of August, Pastor Coin created a game for the Coldcard called The Bitcoin Dungeon.
https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/2084625182992347385
You run around various levels collecting bitcoin and keys, trying to escape the banker and fiat rats. You unlock doors by typing in passwords on Coldcard's keyboard, etc.

This game would gain popularity if you got 1 sat. for every BTCitcoin collected in this game.

Wow... I love cats, I think they’re among the cutest intelligent creatures on our planet, and the name Catcard really fits,

And if the main character turns out to be a kitty, there will be no limit to its popularity.

We all know what happened with coldard crap, but there might be a chance for saving your old devices with new open source firmware.
Mark Karpele, well know ex CEO of Mt.Gox exchange is currently working on experimental open-source firmware for coldcard hardware, written from scratch in Rust.

It looks like the Coldcard is now fit only for games. Who (are there any former Coldcard owners here?) would want to store their assets on these devices (even with a different firmware)? I imagine Coldcard owners already smashed their devices against the wall and stomped on them back when this happened before.

I would only consider replacing the firmware if I had written it myself, and even then, I wouldn't trust myself, as the firmware could contain hidden bugs.

I would deem only firmware written by an experienced specialist (or, ideally, a team) with a solid reputation, and only after extensive testing and vulnerability checks, suitable for installation on a Coldcard. However, that would require significant resources.

I would view the results of Mark Karpele's work merely as a test of the capabilities of alternative firmware for these hardware wallets, certainly not as a solution for the long-term storage of assets.

[Pmalek]

It looks like the Coldcard is now fit only for games. Who (are there any former Coldcard owners here?) would want to store their assets on these devices (even with a different firmware)? I imagine Coldcard owners already smashed their devices against the wall and stomped on them back when this happened before.

I would only consider replacing the firmware if I had written it myself, and even then, I wouldn't trust myself, as the firmware could contain hidden bugs.

I would deem only firmware written by an experienced specialist (or, ideally, a team) with a solid reputation, and only after extensive testing and vulnerability checks, suitable for installation on a Coldcard. However, that would require significant resources.

Coldcard as a company and manufacturer of hardware wallets should be history. They should be done. I have never owned and would never use a Coldcard after what has happened. Ever. But we need to separate hardware from software. As an example, if you install a pirated and malware-infected OS on your computer that ends up creating all kinds of problems, you wouldn't take a hammer and destroy your computer and its monitor. You would get rid of the software and install a good one.

Similarly, Coldcard's massive failure was due to a faulty software side of things. It happened because the firmware generated seeds with weak entropy. They were not random enough and could be reconstructed and brute forced. Had the software and firmware been configured correctly as is the case with other hardware wallets (I hope), nothing would have happened. I don't think there is any evidence that Coldcard's hardware is at fault. It couldn't do its job properly because the software told it not to do it.

Anyways, I want to come back to what I said in the beginning. Coldcard should not be part of the future of Bitcoin. They should become an ugly stain and history.

[Forsyth Jones]

There's a new demo video of CatCard, this time the altcoin firmware version with a coin selection list and a completely redesigned interface, with well-made, colorful, and easily navigable icons.



Man, I'm excited, because it just takes a new company to make a device similar to Coldcard (with a QWERTY keyboard and a reasonably large screen for a hardware wallet signer device) and Catcard could be acquired, but is that really necessary, since the Coldcard Q casing could be reused?

The possibilities are immense, the hype is immeasurable.

The state of CatCard, Sept 22nd 2026

Note: Chain selection is only available for multichain builds, standard builds are Bitcoin only

[DaveF]

Almost makes me wish I still had my ColdCard handy.
On that note, where is my ColdCard?
I knew I had it 30 months ago when we moved offices, it was in the box of old unused HW wallets. I would clean and look for it, but I'm not that motivated. But cats...so I might.

-Dave

[dkbit98]

There's a new demo video of CatCard, this time the altcoin firmware version with a coin selection list and a completely redesigned interface, with well-made, colorful, and easily navigable icons.

I don't care about altcoins shown there, but it would be nice to see monero being supported.

Almost makes me wish I still had my ColdCard handy.
On that note, where is my ColdCard?
I knew I had it 30 months ago when we moved offices, it was in the box of old unused HW wallets. I would clean and look for it, but I'm not that motivated. But cats...so I might.

You don't have to hurry to find it because stable working code is not yet released in public.
But I would love to have fun with it, and rebrand it into CatCard, maybe with custom printed 3d case,or a simple duck tape 

[dkbit98]

There are new updates regarding CatCard updates, and now it can be used as FIDO02 authenticator.
Now it's also easy to install open source firmare using just your browser and CatCard manager.
This tools is working in Chromium based browser for now, and it has been written with open source code by Tibane Labs:
https://tibanelabs.github.io/catcard-mgr/
https://github.com/TibaneLabs/catcard-mgr