Coldcard scores 24 points above Tangem, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys. Coldcard ranks #11 and Tangem #23 of 23 published hardware wallets. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
CLColdcard66
vs
Tangem42
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #11 and #23 of 23
Coldcard scores 24 points above Tangem, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys.
CLColdcard #11 of 2366
Tangem #23 of 2342
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termColdcard leads on 4 of 6 published criteria; Tangem on 2. The terms sum to the gap.
TermColdcardTangemWeightPoints
Rebuildable firmware10/100/106.5+16.8for Coldcard+8.6 of 32
Secure element5/103/106.5+3.4for Coldcard+1.7 of 32
Checkable keys7/100/102.9+5.2for Coldcard+2.7 of 32
Genuine check5/107/102.9−1.5for Tangem−0.8 of 32
Maker independence10/104/102.6+4.1for Coldcard+2.1 of 32
Fund-loss record1/107/102.6−4.1for Tangem−2.1 of 32
Net of the terms+24.0
Reproduced gap+23.9
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6642+24.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
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 oneTangemScore 42Tap-to-phone NFC cards — closed firmware, and a 2026 laser attack it cannot patchStrength: Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10Watch-out: In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactColdcardTangem
One-time priceSnapshotCOLDCARD Mk5 at $219 ("Buy Now $219 USD") on https://coldcard.com/mk5, read 1 October 2026.Tangem Wallet 2 Cards set at $59.90 on https://tangem.com/en/pricing/, read 1 October 2026.
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; closed source; no air-gapped signing.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
CL
Coldcard
66#11 of 23
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Coldcard if rebuildable firmware matters most — it scores 10/10 to Tangem's 0/10 there (weight 27).
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
Tangem
42#23 of 23
Pick it when
Pick Tangem if genuine check matters most — it scores 7/10 to Coldcard's 5/10 there (weight 12).
Strength
Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10
Tradeoff
In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
CLColdcardLeads
Choose Coldcard if secure element matters most
Secure element: 5/10 against 3/10 for Tangem (weight 27)
Rebuildable firmware: 10/10 against 0/10 for Tangem (weight 27)
Checkable keys: 7/10 against 0/10 for Tangem (weight 12)
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
Tangem
Choose Tangem if genuine check matters most
Genuine check: 7/10 against 5/10 for Coldcard (weight 12)
Fund-loss record: 7/10 against 1/10 for Coldcard (weight 11)
TangemScore 42Tap-to-phone NFC cards — closed firmware, and a 2026 laser attack it cannot patchStrength: Proof the device is genuine and unmodified — 7/10Watch-out: In July 2026 Ledger Donjon reset the card password with a laser fault and signed transactions; it affects every card in circulation and cannot be patched
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 2 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
Tangem3/10 out of 10
Rebuildable firmware
by 10 of 10weight 6.5 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
Tangem0/10 out of 10
Genuine check
by 2 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Tangem leads
Coldcard5/10 out of 10
Tangem7/10 out of 10
Checkable keys
by 7 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard7/10 out of 10
Tangem0/10 out of 10
Maker independence
by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Coldcard leads
Coldcard10/10 out of 10
Tangem4/10 out of 10
Fund-loss record
by 6 of 10weight 2.6 of 86Tangem leads
Coldcard1/10 out of 10
Tangem7/10 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
Coldcard14/20Tangem14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Coldcard16.1/30Tangem6.9/30
Coldcard leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard2.7/10Tangem2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard3.2/8Tangem3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Coldcard5.5/18Tangem5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Coldcard unless the term Tangem leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick Tangem if genuine check matters most — it scores 7/10 to Coldcard's 5/10 there (weight 12).
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, Tangem 3/10)
Scored by Firmware anyone can rebuild and match · 27% (Coldcard 10/10, Tangem 0/10)
Scored by Proof the device is genuine and unmodified · 12% (Coldcard 5/10, Tangem 7/10)
Scored by Key creation and signing you can check · 12% (Coldcard 7/10, Tangem 0/10)
Scored by Sign and recover without the maker · 11% (Coldcard 10/10, Tangem 4/10)
Scored by Years in buyers' hands without a device-level fund loss · 11% (Coldcard 1/10, Tangem 7/10)
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
Coldcard scores 24 points above Tangem, led by rebuildable firmware, secure element, and checkable keys. Published scores, out of 100: Coldcard 66 (rank 11 of 23 hardware wallets), Tangem 42 (rank 23 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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