Coinkite, the maker of Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallets, released new firmware on Aug.
Coinkite, the maker of Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallets, released new firmware on Aug. 20 that forces users to add physical randomness when generating a seed. The update, version 5.6.1 for Mk4 and Mk5 devices and 1.5.1Q for Q devices, requires at least 65 key presses, 50 die rolls, or 128 coin flips to introduce entropy into each new seed. Owners who used firmware prior to the release must generate a new seed and transfer funds unless they qualify for the dice‑roll exception. The exception applies when a user performed at least 50 independent, private die rolls during the original seed creation and did not expose the roll sequence. Block traced the vulnerability to a deterministic MicroPython fallback caused by a feature flag set to zero. The firmware adds mandatory human‑input steps, USB review, transaction checksum verification, and enhanced randomness checks across signing and data paths. Migration instructions advise creating a fresh seed, verifying its backup and wallet fingerprint, confirming a receiving address on the device, sending a small test transaction, and then moving all balances from the old seed. Users who performed fewer than the required physical entropy or are uncertain about their conditions should follow the migration guide. Law enforcement is investigating reported losses, but no verified victim count or total loss amount has been published.
- Publisher
- cryptoslate
- Reliability
- high
- Published
- 8/23/2026, 10:00:15 AM
- Retrieved
- 8/23/2026, 10:00:15 AM
- Relevance
- 80%
- Confidence
- 85%

