Episode notes
Mentor Sessions Ep. 087: Simon Dixon breaks down the Coldcard hack, BIP-110 chain split fallout, node vs miner power, and Bitcoin self-custody security in 2026.
PART 1: Simon Dixon & Doomberg - https://youtu.be/Q0P0X7j_kcA
Over $100 million in Bitcoin vanished in the Coldcard entropy bug — and days later a chain split ended with the nodes defeated and Bitcoin more centralized than before. Simon Dixon joins Nathan to trace what really happened.
This is the deep-dive follow-up to the Doomberg conversation. You'll learn why Simon now treats every incident as an attack "guilty until proven innocent," how the BIP-110 resistance became the most successful node mobilization since the block size war yet still failed to move the mining pools, and why he refuses to die on a hill that ends in an altcoin. You'll see how the Coldcard low-entropy vulnerability, Zeus, Boltz and BTCPay attacks fit one pattern, and hear a clear framework for rebuilding your self-custody with dice-rolled entropy, multisig, and active participation. Simon and Nathan also unpack developer centralization, the loss of Knots as a competing implementation, and why sovereignty is proof of work you can't outsource.
⏱️ Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:24 - Resuming After Doomberg Discussion
0:55 - Infrastructure Attacks on Coldcard and Others
1:32 - BIP-110 and Resulting Chain Split
1:50 - UASF and Block Size War History
2:50 - Tether Fees and Scaling Debates
4:02 - Barry Silbert and SegWit2x Deal
4:51 - Nodes Defeating Miners in Past Wars
6:02 - Role Reversal With Core Changes
7:35 - Running Knots to Support Resistance
8:20 - Developer Centralization Concerns Rise
10:14 - BIP-110 Failure and Altcoin Stance
11:39 - Knots Node Adoption Surge to 20%
12:08 - Infiltration Risks and Verification
12:54 - Can Node Minority Influence Miners
14:19 - Consensus Changes Remain Extremely Difficult
17:16 - More Centralized Yet Wiser After Events
18:13 - Social Fallout Losing Ocean and Knots
22:15 - Check Ego and Welcome Others Back
25:21 - Stay Suspicious While Shaking Hands
27:34 - Abundant Mines Mining Hosting
28:29 - Coldcard Low Entropy Bug Details
30:16 - Hack Impact on Bitcoin Purists
31:36 - Difficulty Spending Stolen Bitcoin
32:37 - Fed Recruitment via Stolen Coins
33:23 - Learn Entropy and Generate Secure Keys
36:03 - Assume Attack and Identify Beneficiaries
37:44 - Self Custody Sovereignty Comes at Cost
39:55 - Bitcoin Requires Active Participation
43:37 - Coordinated Message in All Attacks
45:14 - Final Advice Skepticism and Focus
Links & Resources
→ Simon Dixon on X: https://x.com/SimonDixonTwitt
This is part one — subscribe so you don't miss part two where we go deep on the Bitcoin infrastructure attacks.
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