Dark, Cold Thoughts: A 72-Hour Reflection on the ColdCard Vulnerability

In this unscripted solo episode of the Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles breaks from the usual format to share a raw, deeply personal reflection on the chaotic 72 hours surrounding the recent ColdCard hardware wallet vulnerability. What began as a peaceful family evening in Chicago quickly devolved into a high-stakes emergency after a 60-message alert dropped in a developer chat.

Brandon recounts the panic of discovering the news, flying out of state at 7:00 AM to urgently migrate funds for friends, and the administrative nightmare of setting up new seed phrases and passphrases. He explores the emotional toll of having recommended compromised devices to loved ones and the stark duality he witnessed within the Bitcoin community.