Samson Mow Shares 5 Urgent Steps for Coldcard Users Facing Losses

Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow outlined five immediate actions for users affected by the Coldcard wallet losses following the disclosure of a random number generator vulnerability. His recommendations focus on preserving evidence, reporting thefts, avoiding recovery scams, and documenting information that could support ownership claims.

Mow wrote:

“The COLDCARD RNG vulnerability may be worse than an exchange hack. It hit at the core of sovereign bitcoin holders – it struck those who did all the research, understood why self-custody is important, and didn’t keep coins on exchanges.”

His first recommendation urged victims to document everything they know, including wallet addresses, dates, firmware versions, transaction details, and any other information that could help create a detailed record of the incident.

Another key recommendation focused on preserving the affected Coldcard device and seed phrase instead of destroying them after the theft. Mow advised victims to retain the device, seed phrase, and PIN, explaining that they might need to prove ownership if stolen bitcoin eventually reaches an exchange and is frozen.

Although Mow expressed sympathy for affected users, he also argued that the incident reinforces the importance of reducing single points of failure in bitcoin self-custody by using hardware from multiple vendors in a multisignature setup instead of relying on a single manufacturer.

Mow wrote:

“Self-custody is hard. If you advocate for self-custody, you should also be telling people to use a multi-vendor multisig setup. I’ve been saying this for years. Self-custody only works if you do it in a way that minimizes a single point of failure. Don’t trust any single vendor for hardware. Assume everyone is your adversary.”

He acknowledged that self-custody remains challenging for many users and urged the Bitcoin industry to become less critical of people choosing custodians, exchange-traded funds, or Bitcoin treasury companies. Mow maintained that there is no single correct way to hold bitcoin because every custody method carries tradeoffs.

Mow also urged affected users not to take rash action and to speak with someone if they needed support. He noted that many bitcoin holders have lost coins for different reasons and emphasized that individuals can rebuild after a loss.