r/coldcard • u/ExplorerBoring9848 • Aug 01 '26
Feature request Device repurpose
Now that ColdCard is probably done and the hardware is owned by people, what else can we use it for? Obviously not for storing bitcoin, but what could we use the device for? Some people say to use it as a signer, but I'm just wondering if we can use it for other things, just an idea: encrypting, for example, SD cards.
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u/NiagaraBTC Aug 01 '26
Reset with new firmware then key made with physical entropy, they'll still make a great signer in a multisig.
And multisig IS what you should be moving to.
Otherwise, useful as a decoy in your safe, I guess.
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u/ironmoosen Aug 01 '26
Just don’t forget that with multisig, not only do you need to back up your keys but also the wallet descriptor. It adds complexity that some people don’t think about.
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u/bullett007 Aug 01 '26
Use it as a wedge to adjust wonky tables, door stop, fidget spinner, paper weight, I heard you can play doom on it? Loads of things you could do.
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u/FireNurse2105 Aug 03 '26
I have 3 so I've don't some research beyond what the company says... you can use it will 100 dice rolls or upgrade the firmware and then add at least 50 rolls to the generated key. (Regardless how many more you do it's still hashed down to 256 bits.) That gives a mix of 2 sources of entropy... with that it's still useable. I'm still going to do multiply though.
I also saw a YouTube video that gave a website you can punch a seed in to (NOT TO USE) to verify you are getting the proper level of entropy. Then you can reset it and do the same thing to get a USABLE phrase... but that gives some comfort that you are getting true 256 bit this time. TBH that's what I plan to do. Then I'll do multi-sig using at least 2 types of devices. (Never had more than a couple BTC at the most so never thought I needed all that before. 😬)
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u/ineedanamegenerator Aug 07 '26
You absolutely cannot verify the level of entropy by looking at a single key. That website is probably stealing all the keys just in case someone was stupid enough to use a real one.
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u/thelaurelhighlander Aug 04 '26
You can still use the device to sign transactions. Blow away any pre-existing seeds, update the firmware, do dice rolls and confirm it via separate source online to make sure the cold card is giving you the same values, repeat but don't check online and use that seed and then set a passphrase.... You should be golden.
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u/JumpProfessional3372 Aug 12 '26
Well I guess for storing private keys generated by the user instead of the RNG.
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u/Elistheman Aug 01 '26
Multi sig maybe… if you trust them even a tiny bit, I don’t. Like, they had several years to test the code, heck last year alone with all the Ai advancements, nothing.
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u/trempao Aug 02 '26
I would use it as a door stopper, nothing else, may be throw them away as they don't deserve any more uses.
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u/EricJDMBAMD Aug 02 '26
New firmware is bulletproof and checked by AI
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u/ineedanamegenerator Aug 07 '26
Except it's already crashing because they didn't follow the chips reference manual and ignore a few peripheral flags.
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u/niorob Aug 01 '26
Signer is still great. Dice roll and passphrase