Coldcard

Bitcoin-only hardware wallet built around air-gapped signing.

You hold the keys
Visit Coldcard → All hardware wallets

Opens coldcard.com in a new tab.

The listing at a glance

  • You hold the keysYour coins stay under your control. Coldcard never holds them.
  • coldcard.comThe address our listing links to.
  • No commercial linkWe earn nothing if you sign up.
  • Founded 2018Toronto, Canada
  • Updated 30 Sep 2026The last time we edited this listing.

What Coldcard is

Coldcard is a Bitcoin-only hardware wallet that operates without a required companion app or company account. Setup, PIN entry, and firmware updates happen on-device, and it works with compatible wallet coordinators such as Sparrow, Cove, Nunchuk, and Specter by moving PSBT files over QR, MicroSD, NFC, or USB. Two models are offered: the Q, with a QR scanner and keyboard, and the Mk5, a smaller device using MicroSD and NFC. Firmware is open source and reproducible, and the device uses two secure-element chips from separate vendors to store the seed.

The device includes optional duress features such as a decoy PIN that opens a separate wallet, a Countdown to Brick PIN that delays or wipes access, a Brick Me PIN that destroys the secure elements, and support for BIP-39 passphrases as an additional hidden wallet layer. Beyond signing Bitcoin transactions, it can store encrypted notes, passwords, and recovery phrases from other wallets offline. A companion metal backup plate, made of steel cut and etched in Canada, stores 24 seed words across two sides.

Good for, and what to watch

Good for

  • Bitcoin only, with a long security track record
  • Air-gapped through microSD, no USB connection needed
  • No companion app or company account required
  • Deep options for advanced setups: multisig, passphrases, duress PINs

Watch out for

  • Built for experienced users — the menus are unforgiving
  • Self-destruct options such as the brick-me PIN are permanent
  • Bitcoin only
  • Buy direct, never from a marketplace

What we’ve written that mentions Coldcard

Before you go

Make sure it is really Coldcard

Lookalike sites copy crypto companies to take people’s coins. Paste any link that claims to be Coldcard and we will tell you whether it is the official site, or only resembles it. We do not keep what you paste.

  1. 1
    Go from here, or type itcoldcard.com is the address in our listing. Bookmark it rather than following an ad or a message.
  2. 2
    Check any other linkSearch says whose official site a link is, and warns when one resembles a site we know.
  3. 3
    Never share your recovery phraseNo real company asks for it: not support, not an update, not a “verification”.

This listing is our own opinion. We are not affiliated with Coldcard beyond any commercial relationship disclosed above, we never take custody of your assets, and nothing here is financial advice. Verify anything that matters against the company's own site before acting on it.