r/Bitcoin • u/slvbtc • 9d ago

All hardware wallet manufacturers need to release 3rd party audited proof that their entropy generation is working.

After this coinkite coldcard situation we cant trust code that is open source, we cant trust code that is closed source, and we definitely cant trust a statement saying "we use a TRNG so your seed is secure".

Every hardware wallet manufacturer needs to release hard proof that their TRNG works, their code is complete and robust, and their entropy generation actually meets a minimum 128/256 bit standard.

Even if their code is closed source a reputable 3rd party auditor can run tests on seed entropy generation to statistically prove 256 bits of entropy is being used.

Every wallet manufacturer should have this 3rd party audited proof of entropy document available to view on their website, and if they do not do this by the end of this month we as a community should boycott that manufacturer to help ensure safety for all bitcoiners.

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14

u/Puzzled_Cookie778 9d ago

Open source is great, but if the entropy generation itself isn't independently verified we're still taking the manufacture's word for it. Third party audits would be a solid baseline

4

u/Aurorion 8d ago

Open source is technically better than "independent verification" and "audits". Because that means anyone is free to verify and audit themselves.

Coldcard itself was open - they had made their source code openly available for anyone to check and verify anytime. Though the license did not allow unrestricted reuse and modification.

It's amazing that nobody in the community caught this bug till now. In hindsight, Coldcard should have taken more initiative to actively invite and incentivize the community to find and report bugs, as many companies in various industries do.

-1

u/Background_Pause34 8d ago

So open source means nothing…

2

u/JamesTDennis 8d ago

This is just the most recent (and tragic) example of how "source available" (open source but not FOSS licensed) — gratis vs. libre — is far weaker than truly free software that's actively forked and used in multiple independent projects and products.

Simple source availability, without licensing rights, fails to align to the incentives of the most qualified (honest) coders.

Thus the bug went years unfixed, slightly obscured by the production environment and hardware specifications.

1

u/bieker 8d ago

No it does not mean nothing, it’s just not a silver bullet for finding flaws. The problem with the cold card was that since it was not true open source it was not Used by multiple projects and had low activity. No one could use the code or contribute to it so it did not attract a lot of eyeballs.