SD

omg_its_dan

I think as long as long as you do the dice rolls properly (ie use fair dice and do enough rolls) then the output can be trusted as random. I can’t speak specifically to the keystone though, I am still deciding. Air gapped means that the seed phrase never touches another device with a cable. With one of these wallets you need to load transactions on an SD card and sign it with the device, then move the signed transaction file back to your PC to broadcast the final transaction. It adds a step but isn’t too difficult. My thinking is with a multisig setup it’s ok to use one non air gapped device, because even if that was hacked somehow, you can’t move any funds with only one seed. This will mean that when I want to send, I’ll sign the transaction via the trezor connected to my computer, plus an air gapped signature on the keystone or cold >!card.!<

Mission-Ant-9258

If I'm understanding your question correctly: you were not affected, transfered your funds somewhere else, and you're now asking if you can delete the files in the SD card after the transactions were confirmed. Correct? If that's the case, then let's hope you can delete them because I did so too. Fingers crossed.

viper2097

Trezor and Ledger don't have SD card slots so it's not something they do. As far as security "generally speaking"; The fear that many people have is that a computer with a virus could be used to inject malware onto a hardware wallet or somehow be used to extract the keys from the secure element. Obviously there are absolutely no reported cases of a hacker being able to pull off anything CLOSE to this but people were still paranoid about it. Coldcard brought this feature out as a sales pitch to the people who were worried about such an attack. The cool thing about SD cards is that the good ones have a little "Lock" / "Unlock" switch on the side, When in the lock position, The SD card becomes "read only" The idea is that you could sign transactions on your Cold card's SD card with the tab set to "Unlock" and then pull it out, Switch it to "lock" (read only) and put it into a computer and broadcast the transaction, You could then remove the SD card from the computer and put it right back into your cold card and know with 100% certainty that nothing malicious was written to the SD card as it has a physical switch on it making it impossible.

DramaticWealth5985

You can't practically verify what a physically connected device actually sends through that connection. You can however verify signed transactions from SD or QR code on an offline computer first before transmitting to the network.

viper2097

That could be a really lengthy answer but I could maybe give you one example even though it may not answer your question. 1) Say I have three BTC and three kids and I'm planning my inheritance to make sure everyone gets 1 BTC, I could use the cold card to sign three different transactions on three different SD cards and give it to my estate lawyer for when I die. This is a very secure way to guarantee a transfer will be made at a future date without any middlemen or hackers changing my wishes. I'm not giving my private keys to anyone, Just three signed transactions that only sends a set amount of BTC (1) to a specific address (Little Joey's BTC address) All my estate lawyer can do with these files is broadcast the signed transactions, the address can't be changed and the amount can't be changed.

JanPB

Can't SD cards be infected too? Besides, if, say, Trezor does not have a physical path in its circuitry to output the keys, what difference does the air gap make? I thought the entire *point* of HW wallets was that you could connect it to a totally infected computer and still be fine because it's just physically impossible for the keys to leave the relevant microchip (which was precisely the Ledger debacle some time ago).

viper2097

The Ledger/Trezor is either cabled or wirelessly connected to a computer/phone that's connected to the internet when signing transactions. One of the selling points of the cold card is that you can sign a transaction on an SD card and then put that SD card into a computer to broadcast the transaction so that the cold card never actually touches a device that's connected to the internet. Like others have said, None of that really matters if the seed was created using 40 bits of entropy.

Old-Cardiologist-545

No, I asking if I can delete them… to make more space on my SD card. These are old transactions that are already confirmed. Is there any point in keeping them. Unsigned transactions that you no longer need, signed transactions and anything else that is taking up space that isn’t needed.

hk371

They could still add data from camera, NFC, SD card as input to seed generation.

Rtxenjoyer

If you are determined to have the most secure hardware wallet setup, here is a surface level guide. For maximum security, I would recommend SeedSigner and assembling it yourself. Buy the parts, such as the Raspberry Pi board, camera, and display, from reputable vendors. If you are really paranoid, buy each part from a different vendor. Do not buy a prebuilt SeedSigner, as that defeats the purpose of building it yourself with off-the-shelf parts. Nobody will know that you are using the parts for a Bitcoin wallet. The best board is the Raspberry Pi Zero 1.3 because it has no built-in Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, but it is harder to find in stock. If you buy the Raspberry Pi Zero W, there is a guide on GitHub showing how to physically remove the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. When it is time to flash the SeedSigner OS onto the SD card, make sure you download the latest release from GitHub, along with the SHA-256 files, so you can verify it. You can also verify the SeedSigner PGP fingerprint from different sources, such as Keybase, to confirm that you have the authentic SeedSigner OS. Before creating your seed using the dice method, which I recommend, you can verify that the dice inputs are correct using the iancoleman website. This allows you to confirm that SeedSigner outputs the correct seed from the numbers you enter. When you have fully built the SeedSigner and are ready to create your seed. Use casino dice, preferably, or multiple dice. Roll them 99 times and write down the order on a piece of paper. Then enter the dice rolls into SeedSigner multiple times to make sure you get the same seed every time. You can then store the numbered sequence on paper instead of storing your seed words. For a bad actor, it would be much harder to recognize that it represents a seed phrase containing your Bitcoin. For maximum security, also add a complicated passphrase and store it separately from the numbered sequence. For additional security, you could set up multisig using wallets from other vendors as well, but I will not go into that.

blurred_rabbit

Sorry to hear this and props for stacking for 8 years man. I was never able to be that consistent with it even though I sat through several cycles learning that BTC goes back up. Life gets in the way so had to sell here and there. Coldcard airgapped w/ micro SD was my go to. There hasn’t been a single issue since I started using them back in 2021. It is unreal to me that there was a bug around one of the most important parts (initial seed generation). This is something you can’t just patch later on unfortunately. Thankfully for me I always did at least 100 manual dice rolls and a complex passphrase which I think saved me this time around. Only thing that would make you feel better is to consistently start stacking back in bitcoin or some other investment and as time goes on it all becomes a blur and you will feel better.

Specialist_Trust4945

I wouldn't use an SD card for TX signing because it kind of defeats the purpose of keeping the device offline, but other than that super solid setup.

SpareEconomy1849

Yeah kinda dumb that they have 6 different colors and they are all ugly. I think it fits with the functionality though, you gotta export a file to the SD card, sign, move back to your PC, then upload etc all with some 3rd party open source app. I prefer it, but it's definitely not appealing to the average person

jwhendy

Thanks for the detailed reply! Glad to have a nuanced dialog (rare these days) :) > Of course many novice users are just going to follow the default setup procedure In hindsight, just wow, for how security-forward they are, it kind of blows my mind they have the beginner approach at all. Like why not just mandate dice rolls just cause? Don't even have beginner/medium/paranoid guides, just paranoid. > As I added in another comment I wouldn't use a product developed by a company with less than 10 employees and a shoe string budget. I did not know these facts and those were some of the most eye opening and best points I think you made. Just comparing employees, capital, investments, reviews. I think the critical breakdown was absolutely in the diligence/review process. >Further, they are judgement proof. If the software fails and/or gets hacked a company with less than $1mm in assets will immediately go bankrupt with no possibility of recovery. Yeah, in some other thread someone was talking about how folks will get money back and mentioning insurance. I'm like... this is going to be like a 1929 bank run (ok, not quite). There's just not going to be enough to go around. Tragic. > Your private keys never leave the hardware. Thanks for the rundown on this. I have little experience across the various wallets and how they work. So this sounds better than my initial read, just with *some* degree of trust that this is what actually happens. Like compare: - in theory, if everything is working properly, the Coldcard uses the hardware based TRNG... unless someone messed up the implementation - in theory, if everything is working properly, there's no way a USB connection could be used to access the private key If we rewound the clock a week, I actually don't know which of these at face value one should/could be more paranoid about? The whole thing opens up just how much we rely on humans (and even AI) to get all of this right. Don't accidentally commit with some `debug=True` flag on, for example. Who the hell knows all the possible ways that what *should* happen might not *actually* happen. > I would comment that this adds some complexity for the novice users when you start adding qr codes, sd cards... Totally fair. I have been using linux for like 20yrs and love the option to do some of these things vs. the impossibility of them, even if others connect up with USB. Copying a partially signed transaction to SD and back is all good, but there is fully a reality of how to reduce all of the cryptography details into something usable. Imagine we had to have some mental model of wind resistance, friction, air/fuel mixtures and whatever just to drive a car! Hey, dang, you have no idea how much I love a sane discussion, and found myself realizing how rare it is. I appreciate the interaction :)

Ok-Toe9937

That's rough, I'd probably try reflashing the firmware from a fresh SD card if you haven't already.

damnuchucknorris

Only coldcard, looking at everything it's probably some malware or something that they injected and just waited until their victim list got big enough. The vulnerability was probably on the SD card.

bastian74

Google says most SD cards will lose data in 1 to 10 years, depending on many factors

votegoat

Did you use the same SD card to migrate the seeed/private key, to then transfer the watch wallet file/ signed messages? or did you use two seperate sd cards? The SD card with the Wallet Private Key on it would still have had the private key on it even if you deleted it, unless you did a multi pass over write of the card.

bastian74

Doesn't an SD card have limited storage life?

MicroneedlingAlone2

"I used the same SD Card from 2021 though to export the wallet file from the newly restored coldcard. Import that file into Sparrow (needed to update Sparrow at this point)," when you say "export the wallet file" do you mean the entire wallet? Not just a watching copy, but a legit wallet with spend capability? AKA the private key was on that SD card at some point, and then got plugged into another device with Sparrow on it (phone, pc, something connected to the internet?)

Generationhodl

especially the part with sparrow is what makes me wonder. Right now there is a malicious sparrow app in the apple app store that seems not to be taken down regardless. I wonder if OP might have downloaded a bad / malicious version of sparrow, and as soon as the put the SD card into the computer or whereever sparrow did run - the Data on the SD Card got sent to the attacker. I mean there was the Backup on the SD Card, the seedphrase if I'm not wrong? so basically you put your seed into an computer or device to read the SD Card and put that file into sparrow. The counter-argument would be that there seems to be other people affected too, with coldcards... I really wonder what the big problem is.. or maybe that "fake" sparrow app was just used over a very long time until the attacker decided they have enough seedphrases now to rug them all.

joefunk76

At a high level, and someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong about any of this, OP typed his original seed phrase into his new Coldcard while the SD card was plugged in, and then inserted his SD card into an Internet-connected PC. Based on everything I’ve read, my best guess is that the hacker somehow managed to remotely install (or trick OP into installing) malware expressly designed to record any seed phrase typed into a Coldcard, and then transmit that seed phrase back to that hacker the next time the malware on the SD card detects an Internet connection. When and how was the malware installed? That is probably extremely difficult to figure out, especially since OP has had the same SD card for 5 years. TL;DR: Hacker remotely installed malware on the SD card designed to record manually input seed phrase and then transmit back to him upon next detection of Internet connection. Call me crazy but this incident is making me question the security of devices that use independent physical media for data transmission as opposed to the device itself.

artilekt

It looks like this is a wide-scale attack though, something that would not be isolated to his SD card.

ConsequenceFew6931

OP I ran your timeline through Opus 5. Here is what it had to say: My bet is the SD card, and specifically that it carried more than he thinks it did. The reasoning that moves me most is timing. That wallet held real money continuously since March 2025 — 0.65 BTC sitting there untouched for ten months, with more added in November and December. An attacker holding those keys before January 2026 would almost certainly have swept it then. The only thing that changed in the wallet’s state was the restore. So whatever happened, it happened in that January 2026 sequence. Inside that sequence, the seed existed in four places: the paper, his fingers on the mk4, the mk4’s secure element, and the SD card. The first three are hard to attack remotely. The SD card is the only one that went into a networked computer — a computer he was, at that same moment, downloading wallet software onto. He believes he exported an xpub-only file. But that card had been sitting in the baggie with the paper seed since 2021, and SD cards don’t securely delete: anything written to it during the original 2021 setup and later removed is usually still recoverable. An infostealer or a trojanized Sparrow build doesn’t politely read only the file you clicked — it images the volume. Rough weighting of how I’d bet: **• \~45%** — compromised host (fake/unverified Sparrow update, or a pre-existing stealer on that machine) harvesting seed material off the 2021 SD card **• \~20%** — something he genuinely doesn’t remember or hasn’t mentioned; these accounts are almost always incomplete, and the real cause often surfaces three days later in the comments **• \~15%** — tampered mk4 (he never says where he bought them, unlike the mk3s which he sourced direct from Coinkite) **• \~15%** — physical compromise of the paper, timed coincidentally **• \~5%** — everything else The six-month delay is consistent with all of these, incidentally. Harvested keys typically go into a batch, get sold, and get swept whenever someone works through the queue — the lag is normal, not evidence against.

NiagaraBTC

You're certain you exported a wallet file via SD card and not somehow the private key itself? How certain are you that you were using a legitimate version of Sparrow?

cgimusic

Reminds me of those janky SD cards that had built-in Wi-Fi and would share your photos as you took them.

PassionGlobal

But a full.fat SD card has room for things other than storage...

so7ow

Yeah something doesn't add up for sure. He says he's going to drop some details later, so I guess we'll see. So far the only hint is something about an SD card that he hasn't really clarified.

Generationhodl

"Never hooked it up into a computer. Just the SD card." So you put the SD Card with the Coldcard-Backup (basically your seedphrase) into your computer?

Generationhodl

"Never entered seed into a computer. Just the Cold Card itself. No photo of seeds, just the watch-only QR. SD card imports the wallet into Sparrow." So did you use your SD-Card Backup from Cold-Wallet on your PC to import your 2021 Coldcard-Wallet into Sparrow? Does it have to do something with the fake-sparrow app from the apple store? [https://x.com/craigraw/status/1743573811230863813](https://x.com/craigraw/status/1743573811230863813) Could it be that you downloaded a compromised Version of Sparrow from some scammy site? Other people got scammed out of their bitcoin because of a fake-sparrow App / Software.

MriLevi

An SD card cannot be compromised, it has no connectivity on its own whatsoever. The data on it could only have been accessed if it was punt into a device.

memberwap

What did you do with the SD card? Did you backup your wallet into it and then put it in some laptop/PC? Otherwise I can't see how it was compromised.

s1ammage

This is my understanding… unless the SD card is compromised.

s1ammage

Never entered seed into a computer. Just the Cold Card itself. No photo of seeds, just the watch-only QR. SD card imports the wallet into Sparrow.

moviemaker2

You technically can but you don't want to take this route as a newbie. It's 100% easier, safer and just as economical to get a dedicated device. Essentially anything but a Ledger. I recommend a coldcard MK5, but other options like Jade, bitbox and others would be just fine. The simplified process is that you have a wallet on your phone or PC that doesn't contain the private keys. You initiate a transaction in that wallet, filling in amount, address, etc. and the hardware wallet authorizes the transaction. (either by being connected via usb, or if you want to go full airgapped mode like with the coldcard Q, you copy the transaction from the computer to the Q via SD card, sign the transaction, copy it back to the computer, and broadcast it.)

Search327

I started out with a self built Raspberry pi and MyNode but I had to keep formatting the SD card. I move to a used pre-built Start9 server and haven't had an issue since.

disruptioncoin

Bro one time I bought one of those hollow trick nickels off ebay and hid an SD card with information important to my business on it (it was my Tails boot drive). I chilled out for a year then decided to get back into business again, but couldn't for the life of me figure out where that nickel went.... I probably mixed it in with other change and bought a gas station coffee with it or something.

yesdaddy_____

Because I need to find the "protected" file in my internal or SD card storage. Which i can't access without SU

Different-Result-859

Yeah, got it. The card reader you need is one you can insert the SD card into it, and you can plug it into the USB slot of the computer. The SD card is usually more straightforward compared to accessing the Android. 3. Should be fine if write protection is enabled. 4. This is just software you can download with a Google search. It is actually easy. If you run into issues you can ask here. You can buy a $20 Claude Pro subscription to double check things since trusting somebody may not be always safe. 5. This is only if the data is corrupted and you can't read the SD card files.

yesdaddy_____

I haven't tried to read the SD card as of yet. I do have an SD card adapter (Larger card that the SD goes into) Neither do I know how to properly do steps 3-5 as you listed. I'm not a computer wizard. I don't know all the SDK & Platform tools correctly. I don't wanna accidentally delete or overwrite data

Different-Result-859

I just read that you are not even sure if it is the original SD card... But no harm trying. This is easiest to check IMO Let me just confirm the facts: 1. Do you know which parts of the HTC phone is dead? The screen? Battery? 2. Do you recall if the Bitcoin Wallet app that comes with this wallet is there even if the phone is dead or uninstalled? If it is installed, recovery is much easier. If it is uninstalled, it is very much harder. 3. You have checked your emails. Some versions of the Schlidbach wallet send you the backup by email. If you have not checked the emails that was in use in 2012, that can be the missing piece you need to unlock the wallet.

yesdaddy_____

Yeah, I read about basically every rooting method will wipe my data. It's been so long, I can't remember why the app isn't there anymore. But when I look through my other android devices. It shows all the transactions I've made. Like 900, 460, 760, 140 BTC etc. I'm thinking, maybe when switching phones in the past. (I don't recall the process) it would move the apps over to the newer phone. Unlike nowadays we have smart switch that basically moves everything to your new device. I'm almost positive it was running 2.3.4 I could try and check the SD for a back up file but it's been so long I'm not entirely sure that's the original SD card. Or if I even had an SD card in the phone in question to begin with.

Different-Result-859

No, that's risky. Buy an external USB SD card reader. That's safer.

eckstuhc

So a couple of things here.... Android 2.3.4 was the version that patched most of the known exploits (unrevoked 3, gingerbreak, etc.) If you are actually running that version, you are likely out of luck getting root. If you downgrade to Froyo it'll wipe your data, if you use the HTC bootloader-unlock, it'll wipe your data. I think "zergRush" works on some 2.3.4, but it's a long shot and not very likely. More importantly, was the app truly uninstalled or do you just not see it? (Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > "Bitcoin Wallet") If it's listed, the data is still there, but if the app was truly uninstalled, the wallet data is probably already gone. Uninstalling the app removes its private data directory, keys along with it. Your only recourse would be forensic recovery (NAND specialists). So... confirm if you are running 2.3.4 and if the app was truly deleted. Also, you said it has an SD card. Worth looking on that for a backup file if you haven't already.

Different-Result-859

You are using an external card reader to read the SD card with a computer, right? Are you saying that the computer is not detecting the SD card or not able to read the SD card? Have you done these too, to make sure the data is kept intact since even the act of connecting may make the computer do minor invisible edits? 1. Enable write-protection 2. Use external USB reader instead of built in laptop slots 3. Don't format or edit anything 4. Use OSForensics ImageMounter to create a raw sector-by-sector image file of the SD card 5. Scan the image, not the card if you can't find the file with data recovery software I think you are talking about accessing the internal data of the phone?

yesdaddy_____

I could try to use a card reader adapter (the one that fits an SD card into a larger card) on my laptop, would that suffice? I had a SD card port on my other PC but the power supply shot a fire ball into the sky. (The power supply blew up)

Different-Result-859

No doubt it is there in the internal storage. But it could be there in the SD card too, if you ever clicked backup wallet in the app. Since phone is dead, I think it is faster to check the SD card especially if you have a reader to plug it into PC

Different-Result-859

By checking. I have made some edits if you are checking SD card. Checking the device itself is harder.

yesdaddy_____

I've read that so many times on multiple forums. How do I know if its on the SD card or the phones internal storage?

Different-Result-859

Pretty sure I can help you. Read the SD card on your PC. Put it in a card reader and look for a file named like bitcoin-wallet-backup-2012-… (no extension), in the Download folder or the card's root. Once you have that, you can recover the wallet easily

TaxAdministrative447

I would grab a couple of the same HTC phones from eBay and use them as guinea pigs. Clone the SD card first and work from copies only. Then mess around with rooting/imaging on the donor phones until you have a process you're comfortable with before touching the original.

yesdaddy_____

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, alot of DM'S alredy. Anyway, The device in question is an: Android Incredible model number: ADR6300VW I belive the android version is 2.3.4 (the device is dead, I need to charge it to give further info. *side note: google stopped supporting this OS awhile ago. Which makes this harder to recover. The Schlidbach app is not on the phone. But i believe once I access super user I can access the protected files. (My other apps, wallpaper etc are still there, so no. It hasn't been factory reset or anything. It does have an SD card. To my knowledge and as far as I can recall, there was no PIN, password or anything about a backup. It would just prompt " The amount in your wallet is quite high for carrying in your pocket. Please move some to a safer place" As far as I've researched the phone NEEDS to be rooted to gain access to the protected files. But as you said, rooting the phone like whiching the OS the clock work recovery mod may or in most cases WILL delete all data.

eckstuhc

First, I highly recommend you refrain from any conversation via private messages or DMs. Keep things public, that way (hopefully) someone can call out if you are being scammed. Second, lets clarify: the funds do not "live" in the phone the way you think they do. That wallet in 2010-era was pre-HD, so you are correct there is no seed phrase, but the funds "live" as individual private keys. All funds are "on" the blockchain, your keys just enable you to sign for the corresponding public address (access the BTC). The good news - individual private keys are the easiest to import, those keys can be swept directly into Electrum without any other tooling. And you are also correct in that rooting does have the potential to factory reset your phone. Most rooting paths with /data which is where your keys exist. "Unrevoked" root uses an exploit in HTC-based devices that don't touch the data partition, but from what I know this is only HTC devices and pretty sketchy. I wouldn't go this route unless necessary. So ... questions: 1. What device make and model do you have? And how many? 2. Do you know what version of Android is running? (guessing 2.x given 2010-era) 3. Do they have SD cards or integrated storage? 4. Why can't you access the application itself? (phone doesnt boot, locked, app doesn't open, etc.) The truth: Depending on your make/model, I could help pintpoint a potential exploit-based, non-wiping root method, but it's a long shot. If you have access to the storage (SD card) you need to look for a file beginning with 'bitcoin-wallet-backup'. Historically these are saved to SD cards' /Download folder. Unfortunately, this is a manual backup that would've been completed prior, and prompts for a backup password when set (another hurdle if you do have one). Answer the above questions and I'll let you know what else can be done.

Either-State1365

I would also recommend learning to sign with microsd card/SD card, and learn to run your own node. If you don't run your own node, use multiple wallets and connect to different remote nodes to verify transactions.

bjman22

Interesting idea. I can think of one very useful function for such a feature. Say you want to be able to use the Q to type notes--eg. the combination to a safe where you have the SD card with the backup of your seed words stored or you even want to write in your note your passphrase for the seed phrase. Then you can export this note encrypted to a different SD card than the one where you stored your backup seed phrase. Now you have 2 SD cards which can be stored in different locations. If any emergency happens you can buy a new Coldcard and first put in the SD with the encrypted notes and read what your passphrase was and also the combination to a safe where you have your SD card with the seed phrase backup stored so you can open that. Then you put in your SD with the seed backup and your passphrase and you are back in business.

Fiach_Dubh

maybe i need to play with this more, but: iirc you have an encrypted note option ON device. you can also export notes I think, but i don't think they're encrypted while on the SD card? idea is to export notes from the device to the SD encrypted, so they can be reimported into the device to be decrypted. you now have a secure offline encryption decryption device sd card setup / analog protocol ?

r_a_d_

1. Because the hard part is properly handling your seed phrase, as I mentioned. 2. You still trust the device. You Always communicate via the qr code and SD card or whatever, otherwise you could never get the transaction information from the client, nor could you get the signed transaction to the block chain. So I would call them, different. Not better. The better approach would be to use both a cold card and a ledger with multisig. This way if either manufacturer tries some shit, you’re still protected.

mqfr98j4

Old phone, on the SD card, which has been gone for a good number of years

Far_Geologist_8049

Been using hardware wallets for a few years now and this is actually tough choice. Both are solid for long term storage but they have different philosophies. The Coldcard is more hardcore bitcoin-only approach - no USB connection to computer, everything through SD cards and QR codes. It's super secure but honestly bit more tedious for occasional transactions. You'll be dealing with PSBTs and need to get comfortable with that workflow. OneKey Classic feels more straightforward for someone who doesn't transact daily but still wants decent user experience when they do. The interface is cleaner and connecting to desktop software is less friction. Security is still very good, just not as paranoid-level as Coldcard. Since you mentioned ease of transactions is important and you're not daily user, I'd probably lean toward OneKey. The extra security layers on Coldcard are great if you're storing serious amounts, but for most people the convenience trade-off isn't worth it. Either way you're getting proper cold storage though.

WeGottaTalkAboutYT

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU08/20250227/117951/HHRG-119-JU08-20250227-SD006-U6.pdf

Icy_Giraffe_21

It most definitely is air gaped. It never connects to your phone via Bluetooth or wifi, and you and utilize the micro SD card only to be even more secure

Street-Technology-93

Hawking a book using MIT SD

ChrisBattle2000

Also, it is amazing that he reaches such a doomster conclusion on BTC. His field is System Dynamics, a field which I have studied and worked in for over 20 years. Saylor makes amazing economic arguments using SD concepts and is responsible for a lot of the finance sector's pivot to BTC, so how come Keen can not see the value proposition? That is what I find inexplicable

ZedZeroth

They just mean store the seedphrase as a text file on the SD card and then encrypt it.

andzno1

>Imagine hauling metal plates through an airport if you can just encrypt a micro SDcard the size of a fingernail. 😂 How do you even engrave a seed phrase on a micro SD card?

rs1971

I don't know how long you've been in BTC, but the first hardware wallet wasn't even released until 2014. Early BTC forums / message boards were basically inundated with 'Help, my computer crashed and lost my keys!' or 'Help, I copied my keys to a SD card but I've lost it', etc, etc, etc. No one cared enough to take proper precautions (and it wasn't even clear how to do proper precautions safely) when the stuff was worth $4 a coin.

AcostaJA

Most hardware wallet work with desktop clients, some hardware wallet support PBST signing on SD cards which only need a desktop or mobile client while generating the transaction or broadcasting it (actually a fully signed psbt maybe broadcast by cut n paste at some block explorer/miner pools). A Bitcoin transaction needs to be broadcast, otherwise will never be mined (like having a signed check and never showing it at your bank)

NOLAgambit

I never said that he scripts part of his videos for entertainment therefore he’s going to set up a ponzi scheme. I straight up am saying he has committed fraud and therefore should never own a bank. Charles Ponzi is similar in that sense, but Charles Ponzi was GENUINELY A BETTER PERSON than Jimmy Donaldson, AKA MrBeast. Want me to make it easier for you? Here ya go: Charles Ponzi: Kind as fuck, but also didn’t understand finance as much as he understood how to commit fraud through leverage. WILLING TO ADMIT HE IS A GARBAGE PERSON. After all his bullshit, people were still willing to give him money to invest and ultimately screw them over. MrBeast: Sexual harassment, gambling fraud, rigged lotteries, rigged games, FAR TOO SOCIOPATHIC TO ADMIT WRONGDOINGS EVER. MrBeast is a worse and more modern Charles Ponzi. I think they’re both a great litmus test for finding out what idiots will trust a person blindly without verifying if they’re actually full of shit. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to Rockport to grab the last load of free golf carts to sell for a quick buck. There’s too many golf cart companies and it’s stupid easy money to transport them to South Dakota to sell at 5k apiece, there’s already a ton of buyers out there too, but I don’t have the equipment to travel there by next month, so I’m gonna sell them for pennies on the dollar. If anyone wants to DM me, I’ll sell you my golf carts for $300 apiece. I picked up about 200 carts for free for myself because I’m just charming and lucky and I work hard and wanted to start a golf cart business to match my other tour business. If you want some, you can DM me and I’ll send you the invoice. Even though I can’t transport to SD, I can TOTALLY transport to you anywhere in the country. And if you can trust MrBeast, you can also trust me. :) Anyway, back to sellin’ carts.

almbfsek

it's crazy people are using SD cards for important data. literally the least reliable storage media.

Enrrabador

You had your private keys in a SD card, you snapshot your private keys… honestly, I’m more surprised you still have bitcoin than you finding the private keys for it…

BlacksmithPlane3988

Fair point, let’s do the math and see if it’s irrelevant. Let’s assume you hold for T = 6 years. Volatility is not some kind of ‘daily noise’. Volatility (v) here is defined as the standard deviation (SD) of annual returns. Let’s assume 70% Total volatility scales with square root of at. v_6y ≈ SD * 6y ^ 1/2 ≈ 171% That means the standard deviation of you cumulative returns over 6 years is ~170%. Does your volatility grow slower than your expected returns? Yes. Are 170% range still huge? Also Yes. But sure, let’s say that you’re be on the good side of fortuna and come out on the positive side. You are basically betting that nothing in your situation changes over 6 years. No unemployment, no health emergency, no other needs of liquidity such as family emergency. I am not saying that this is not a viable strategy, all I’m saying is that you should assess risks realistically. Not through a ‘I am in my early 20s and invincible’ lens. I do wish you all the best however and hope that it all works out!

Sos418_tw

so [crypto.com](http://crypto.com) just got conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter. for anyone wondering how this stacks up against the big custody players: Coinbase Custody - already has state trust licenses plus SEC registered broker-dealer status. handles like 100B+ in assets but fees aren't public Gemini - got NY trust charter back in 2015, pretty much the OG regulated custodian. solid insurance coverage but limited to fewer assets BitGo - went the state-by-state route with SD trust charter. does wrapped tokens which others don't really touch the main diff here is crypto.com's going federal instead of state level. means they won't need to juggle 50+ different licenses and can theoretically operate nationwide faster. still conditional tho so they gotta prove capital requirements and compliance infrastructure to OCC first for institutions this probably matters more for cost structure and interstate operations than actual security since all these are pretty locked down. anyone got intel on their fee comparison or insurance limits

Either_Phase_7951

Going through all this effort while you can put your seed on a micro SD card as tiny as a nail or a tiny paper folded up put under your inner sole of your shoe, these are things I came up with instantly, there are so many other possibilities if you think out of the box.

SecureWriting8589

This would absolutely make sense -- if crypt was normally distributed, but it's not. Instead crypto values are skewed, are volatile with volatility clustering, and are subject to phase shifts with non-stationary mean and variance. For example, a 3-SD move in a normal distribution should be a 0.3% event, but this happens with crypt **multiple times per year**. In short, you are grossly over-simplifying things to the point that your math doesn't math, as you're confusing *descriptive* statistics with *predictive* statistics.

AutoModerator

Post is by: More_Ad3831 and the url/text [ ](https://goo.gl/GP6ppk)is: /r/CryptoMarkets/comments/1r505ka/probabilistic_value/ The Normal Distribution is a statistical model where data clusters around a central average the **mean**, and extreme outcomes become increasingly rare as you move away from that center. Currently **BTC seats above 1,5 z score**. A Z-score tells you **how many Standard Deviations** a price is away from its average the Mean. That score is the actual value of price and the actual probability for price to drop on **3 SD is 6%**. For BTC to just return to the mean price the **probability is 43%** and to say that BTC is on low value (-1,5sd) **There is a 83% probability to see that in the future.** This post is for those who shorting. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CryptoMarkets) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Budget-Dress-7942

I’m not going to do it, but which would be the safest hardware to use this on? DS uses SD cards and those are relatively volatile aren’t they? So what would be the safest option?

More_Ad3831

This SD was from a Short Term Holders MVRV indicators but i couldn't upload image

OkBuy4754

\-1.5 SD bottoms have reverted 82% historically within 14 days. Scale in with 0.25% per entry, trail stops at VWAP.

AutoModerator

Post is by: More_Ad3831 and the url/text [ ](https://goo.gl/GP6ppk)is: /r/CryptoMarkets/comments/1qxuobk/short_term_moving_into_stocks/ Retails lost everything, Media are full of short posting, news are short posting, friends saying its going to 0, but **Data proves deferent** **BTC is now -1.5 SD** away from the mean this is the forth time BTC hits that low and you think that's not the bottom? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CryptoMarkets) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Hot_Philosopher3199

I live in the US. I moved my IRA to a SD IRA, bought BTC, moved it to cold storage, then sat on it for years. This year I reversed the process back to a traditional IRA. Not tax.

NiagaraBTC

ColdCard MK4 is a less expensive option to the Q. Less expensive than Jade Plus also I think. Use it air gapped with NFC or SD card.

SteveW928

As an aside, there are a few details around seed derivation path that might vary slightly from wallet to wallet, but this is becoming more a thing of the past. For the most part, yes, you can restore a Bitcoin seed phrase to about any Bitcoin wallet (hot or cold, hardware or software). That said, it is a good idea to actually test your setup. This not only helps you become familiar, but increases your confidence in your setup. Create a wallet with your hardware wallet. Get your seed phrase down and backed up. Move a smaller amount of Bitcoin to that wallet. Then, delete the wallet... like do a factory reset on your hardware wallet. Try restoring that seed phrase to the hardware wallet (and remember, NEVER enter that seed phrase into any phone or computer in any way, or you've undone the whole point of a hardware wallet... only into a hardware wallet!). Once you've done this, you'll see the hardware wallet more as a tool, even if you decide to store your seed phrase there for convenience. Keep in mind, most hardware wallets also let you operate them in a mode where they erase when turned off. This is usually called something like stateless mode. This is how I use my wallets... essentially only signing devices. I also don't plug/connect them into my computer (USB/Bluetooth), as I use the camera or card reader for what is called 'air-gapped' use. This is an extra security step many hardware wallets support. The only time I connect it to a computer is firmware update, but then I do a factory reset after. Some, you can even use the SD card to do firmware updates, so you never connect to a computer.

paulzag

Everything has risk, the goal is to reduce the opportunities for compromise. If you are *not* a well-known BTC HODLer: Download APK & check signature. Boot from a newly prepared Linux live usb Check APK signature still matches under Linux Obtain clean/new SD card Move APK to SD card SD card into Android phone Install APK. Well-known BTC HODLers know what to do as they can’t trust anything.

Navin__R__Johnson

Metals on Ebay is completely fine, jist no private sellers. So long as you order thru dealers, its GTG. Eg; APMEX, SD BULLION, BGASC, ETC...

Yukon_Wally

It's only if you get caught. Plus, you don't need a hardware wallet for cold storage. An offline wallet on an SD card/USB drive works just as good, and if I'm not mistaken, you can back the seed up to a hardware wallet if/when you escape that dystopia. 

SodOffChoom

My friend, the best wallets according to me: 1) Tails Live Persistence with Electrum on it totally offline. Copy down your address/QR in txt file and put it on another flash drive to receive bitcoin. For sending you can sign transactions offline too. Link to guide: [https://youtu.be/XQ5EjApvlEQ?si=E4SeErukigs2yMsw](https://youtu.be/XQ5EjApvlEQ?si=E4SeErukigs2yMsw) 2) Make a Seedsigner: Airgapped - DIY bitcoin wallet all under $50 no matter the country. All you need is a Raspberry Pi zero, an SD card, an Camera and a small display. Link to guide: [https://youtu.be/x0Ee35Ct0r4?si=r7RCAWRsWSYdY\_0X](https://youtu.be/x0Ee35Ct0r4?si=r7RCAWRsWSYdY_0X) 3) Get a Trezor Safe 3 which is cheapest Trezor. I myself am considering purchasing two Trezor Safe 3 instead of Just one safe 5 as a backup device. 4) ColdCard is the final boss of bitcoin wallet. Like the best that can exist for bitcoin only. ADVICE: Please ignore any Closed Source wallet company like Ledger or any Chinese wallet company like Safepal, Keystone or even Tangem because they aren't really the best of the wallet you can have. Stack Sats!

Elemental_Breakdown

Many of the bullion dealers offer discounts if you pay in bitcoin. SD Bullion for example an ounce of pure silver is about $10 cheaper if you pay with btc.

lowercaseCapitalist

Basically, what the SD was to the Gestapo.

SteveW928

The Ledger hardware might be OK. I'm not aware of it ever being hacked. But, the company, practices, and software are, IMO, quite problematic. Why would anyone purposely subject themselves to that (unless they already own one)? There are much better options, like Coldcard, Blockstream Jade, Seed Signer, Trezor (Bitcoin only!), etc. (I'm guessing you're considering a Ledger because of 'crypto'? Not sure I can disuade you from that course, but I strongly recommend using a Bitcoin-only wallet for Bitcoin... the rest is garbage that opens attack surfaces.) I also like using a hardware wallet in air-gapped functionality (ie: QR code or SD card, vs USB/Bluetooth), and even as a 'stateless' device (ie: private key not stored on the device... erases when you turn it off... it becomes just a signing tool). I think this forces one to think properly of a hardware wallet as simply a tool, and not storage-device. And, then it comes down to features... as they all become interchangeable. It forces you into a proper setup and thinking through your seed-phrase backup and security.

SteveW928

Well, first I applaud you for recognizing the risks in both and not rushing in. The 'not your keys, not your coins' I often fear might push people in over their heads. While keeping on an exchange has risk, so does an hasty (w/o enough learning) or improper setup for self-custody. I'd say that for what I'm aware of right now, and ETF would be the only option. That probably isn't a horrible option for some Store of Value benefits of Bitcoin, but you lose some of the other aspects of Bitcoin. So, it depends on what is important to you. (ex: permission-less send receive, country-fleeing, etc.) I don't fully understand how ETFs work, but I'd assume some risk there as well. But, what I'll now say, is that self-custody doesn't have to be super difficult. It might take you a bit of time think through the details, learn some things, and then implement and monitor/protect. Only you know your limits and circumstances. But, I think most people can do it with a bit of effort. Here is what I recommend as a base setup; First, just create a hot-wallet (or a couple) on your smartphone. Write down the seed phrase. Move a little Bitcoin to one of those wallets. Practice deleting/restoring (yes, this means you'll be entering your seed phrase on a digital on-line device to restore it... which is generally a no-no, but this is a small amount and we're doing it for easy-learning purposes). Maybe send some to a 2nd wallet you create. The idea here is to get comfortable with how this stuff works before making your setup for bigger amounts. Then, get a hardware wallet. Most Bitcoiners like Coldcard (several models), Blockstream Jade, Trezor (Bitcoin only version), Seed Signer (and a few others). I recommend ordering it directly from the company, not buying at Amazon or in stores (reduce supply-chain risk). IMO, the best setup for most people, is to use the hardware wallet in an air-gapped way, which means using and SD card or QR code to sign transactions, rather than plugging it into USB or using Bluetooth. Create a seed phrase with the hardware wallet... write this down... back it up into metal (many methods... I like stamping into steel washers, as the stamps, parts, jigs are easy to get and you can make as many as you like cheaply). Maybe create another copy and think of a 2nd location to store it. (continued ...)

forestwinds26

Also you can use a dedicated offline device for encryption that way your keys are never exposed For example an old PC with no WiFi or Bluetooth chips running fedora with full disk encryption used to encrypt the files before moving them to an online PC using QR codes or one time use SD card/USB sticks that are destroyed after The only problem i see is that if I know your using this I could kidnap you and wait 30 days for the money Nice write up thanks

word-dragon

I like the Keystone 3 Pro with the bitcoin - only firmware. It ticks all the boxes for me - open source, air gapped, can load firmware via micro SD card. Most importantly for me, it can handle three separate seeds in one device. I use it with BlueWallet, but it works with many wallets.

SickleFoot

For now, I'll format the SD card, reflash and retest and report back!

SickleFoot

Yeah, it does. But the SD card is brand new.

Crappyhodler

if OS runs on SD card, maybe it's the card failing

Dukaduke22

I'd go with the cold card Q. Specifically you could buy a Coldcard Q on Black Friday for a deal: \- I just can't justify buying a product that supports 'all the coins and all the Dapps.'... there are scam coins hurting people and I don't want to be apart of them... I know they have BTC only firmware though. \- I don't see that it does QR code transactions... I have cold card Q and can confirm the BBQr setup is basically perfect. \- I like the full keyboard and replaceable batteries in the Q. Just makes more sense in my brain. \- I like the simple screen rather than the fancy color screen on the Trezor. It's just one more attack service having to use firmware that runs that color screen. \- I don't see an SD Card reader on the Safe 7. I personally love backing up encrypted seed onto an industrial SD card and/or encrypted passphrase onto an industrial SD card as an alternative backup option. Super cheap alternative backup. But also won't lie one of the best deals for any hardware wallet is the Bitkey. The main downsides of the bitkey is privacy cause you have to use their app from the App Store and you can't verify signature of the software from an app store. And no screen to verify your receive address from the hardware wallet. But besides those two points you have insanely good 2 of 3 geo distributed multi sig for $100. No dinking around with steel plates or descriptor files or two hardware wallets or finding at least two offsite secure locations, etc. You can't get better defense against a $5 wrench attack any cheaper and easier to setup. I'd say $5 wrench attack and shooting yourself in the foot with incorrect setup are the biggest attack vectors right now for most people and bitkey fixes both of those almost perfectly....

riscten

Probably. There's a version of Ubuntu for RPi, but idk if it has the live session functionality. If it doesn't there's probably some other distro that can do this. Or just install Ubuntu on the SD card and destroy it afterwards. [https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi](https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi)

Your_As_Stupid_As_Me

99.99% of these coins are not.... Very very very very very few handful actually have a SD card in the center mass with old-school wallet information to claim a Bitcoin, but it's highly unlikely that the coin you have is one of them.

riscten

Have you audited the firmware running on your printer? Even if the firmware was innocuous, that you spun up an airgapped PC to generate the model, sliced it and copied the gcode to an SD card, printed, then reflashed your printer for good measure, how is that a better process than writing the words on a piece of paper? It's a lot more work for what? PA12-CF will start softening at 108°C. For comparison, paper starts yellowing at 150°C and won't darken or become brittle before 200°C. Pen ink starts degrading around 150°C too. If you had both a paper wallet and a plastic wallet in the middle of a housefire, both would be lost, but if they are in a nearby room that isn't engulfed in flames, the paper would actually last longer. And if you're worried about water, just pass the paper wallet in a laminator, that way you get the benefits of both paper and plastic. Not that either is great for storing mnemonics. The right solution is stamped stainless steel, titanium or even copper. You don't need any specialized equipment for this. Plenty of ways to encode a mnemonic with a hammer and basic punch or even a screwdriver. You don't need fancy letter punches and pre-engraved plates.

PhiNeurOZOMu68

DO NOT 3D PRINT YOUR SEED PHRASE. Most users have Bambu Labs and it is sent over a server and stored on SD card this is the most insecure way to store your seed I've ever seen other than on a billboard in Chicago