Coinkite
Coinkite is a Bitcoin company in the Hardware Wallets category, founded in 2013 by Rodolfo Novak, Peter Gray.
The Idea
Bitcoin-only hardware security, built with an uncompromising cypherpunk ethos. Gray discovered the Bitcoin whitepaper and recruited Novak from their previous venture. They built a blockchain explorer, then pivoted to hardware, creating the Coldcard hardware wallet.
Early Traction
Coldcard became the cult favorite among hardcore Bitcoiners for its air-gapped signing, open-source firmware, and refusal to support any asset except Bitcoin.
Peak Stats
Coldcard became a reference-standard air-gapped, Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, widely recommended for high-security cold storage. Opendime popularized the concept of a physical Bitcoin bearer instrument.
Status Today
Active, but highly uncertain. On July 30, 2026 Coinkite disclosed a firmware bug, live since March 2021, that made Coldcard seed phrases predictable. Roughly $130 million has been drained from more than 7,300 wallets so far, and the total is still climbing.
Why It Matters
Coldcard was the reference standard for serious self-custody, which is why one entropy bug produced the largest self-custody loss in Bitcoin's history. The incident proves that single points of failure remain in self custody.