Recent incidents involving Ledger and Coldcard have exposed weaknesses in hardware wallets, widely recommended as one of the safest ways to hold crypto because they keep private keys offline.

Implants in some Ledger devices stole recovery phrases, while a Coldcard firmware bug allowed attackers to recreate private keys and steal funds.

Michael Tanguma, CEO of Bitcoin custody provider Onramp, compared Bitcoin custody to personal computers in the 1970s, when users needed technical skills to assemble and operate them.

“Self-custody was never designed with newcomers in mind,” he told Cointelegraph.

He said simpler designs helped computers reach a wider audience and that Bitcoin custody now faces a similar challenge.