Coldcard vs BitBox02 Nova BitBox02 Nova leads by 15 points.
BitBox02 Nova scores 15 points above Coldcard, led by secure element, checkable keys, and genuine check. Coldcard ranks #11 and BitBox02 Nova #1 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
CLColdcard66
vs
BitBox02 Nova81
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #11 and #1 of 23
BitBox02 Nova scores 15 points above Coldcard, led by secure element, checkable keys, and genuine check.
CLColdcard #11 of 2366
BitBox02 Nova #1 of 2381
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termBitBox02 Nova leads on 4 of 6 published criteria; Coldcard on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermBitBox02 NovaColdcardWeightPoints
Secure element10/105/106.5+8.4for BitBox02 Nova+4.3 of 32
Checkable keys10/107/102.9+2.2for BitBox02 Nova+1.2 of 32
Genuine check7/105/102.9+1.5for BitBox02 Nova+0.8 of 32
Fund-loss record5/101/102.6+2.7for BitBox02 Nova+1.4 of 32
Net of the terms+14.9
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread−0.1
Reproduced gap+14.8
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below8166+15.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
BitBox02 NovaScore 81EAL6+ secure chip and firmware rebuilt and matched, with Bluetooth — new in 2025, €175Strength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' handsColdcardScore 66July 2026 seed flaw cost owners funds — fixed in 5.6.0; a Bitcoin-only signer that works from microSDStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: 30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new one
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactColdcardBitBox02 Nova
One-time priceSnapshotCOLDCARD Mk5 at $219 ("Buy Now $219 USD") on https://coldcard.com/mk5, read 1 October 2026.BitBox02 Nova, Multi edition, at €175.00 including 19% VAT on https://shop.bitbox.swiss/en/products/bitbox02-nova-79/, read 1 October 2026; no US dollar list price is published.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalus, europe, global
Custody modelEditorialSelf-custody: the keys stay on the deviceSelf-custody: the keys stay on the device
Security postureSnapshotSecure element, no listed certificate; fully open source; air-gapped signing; a device-level flaw cost owners funds.Secure element, EAL6+ certified; fully open source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
CL
Coldcard
66#11 of 23
Pick it when
Coldcard leads BitBox02 Nova on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10
Tradeoff
30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new one
BitBox02 Nova
81#1 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick BitBox02 Nova if secure element matters most — it scores 10/10 to Coldcard's 5/10 there (weight 27).
Strength
Secure element you can look up — 10/10
Tradeoff
First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' hands
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
CLColdcard
Coldcard leads BitBox02 Nova on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
ColdcardScore 66July 2026 seed flaw cost owners funds — fixed in 5.6.0; a Bitcoin-only signer that works from microSDStrength: Firmware anyone can rebuild and match — 10/10Watch-out: 30 July 2026: Coinkite reported that firmware before 5.6.0 generated weak seeds (about 72 bits) on Mk4, Mk5 and Q, and that attackers stole funds from weak seeds; update, then move any seed made before 5.6.0 to a new one
BitBox02 NovaLeads
Choose BitBox02 Nova if secure element matters most
Secure element: 10/10 against 5/10 for Coldcard (weight 27)
Genuine check: 7/10 against 5/10 for Coldcard (weight 12)
Checkable keys: 10/10 against 7/10 for Coldcard (weight 12)
BitBox02 NovaScore 81EAL6+ secure chip and firmware rebuilt and matched, with Bluetooth — new in 2025, €175Strength: Secure element you can look up — 10/10Watch-out: First shipped in 2025, so it has a short record in buyers' hands
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 8612 of 12 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Secure element
by 5 of 10weight 6.5 of 86BitBox02 Nova leads
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova10/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
weight 6.5 of 86Tie
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova10/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 2 of 10weight 2.9 of 86BitBox02 Nova leads
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova7/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 3 of 10weight 2.9 of 86BitBox02 Nova leads
Coldcard7/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova10/10 out of 10
Maker independence
weight 2.6 of 86Tie
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova10/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 4 of 10weight 2.6 of 86BitBox02 Nova leads
Coldcard1/10 out of 10
BitBox02 Nova5/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard14/20BitBox02 Nova14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Coldcard16.1/30BitBox02 Nova21.8/30
BitBox02 Nova leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard2.7/10BitBox02 Nova2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard3.2/8BitBox02 Nova3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard5.5/18BitBox02 Nova5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose BitBox02 Nova unless the term Coldcard leads on is the one you are buying.
Coldcard leads BitBox02 Nova on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Key failure: your own keys are made, shown or recovered unsafely.
Scored by Secure element you can look up · 27% (Coldcard 5/10, BitBox02 Nova 10/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Coldcard 10/10, BitBox02 Nova 10/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Coldcard 5/10, BitBox02 Nova 7/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Coldcard 7/10, BitBox02 Nova 10/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Coldcard 10/10, BitBox02 Nova 10/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Coldcard 1/10, BitBox02 Nova 5/10)
Every failure family that applies to this category is scored, except Information failure, which the provider pages show as a fact.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
BitBox02 Nova scores 15 points above Coldcard, led by secure element, checkable keys, and genuine check. Published scores, out of 100: Coldcard 66 (rank 11 of 23 hardware wallets), BitBox02 Nova 81 (rank 1 of 23).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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