Mailbag, incl: Berkshire Hathaway or an ETF? September 13, 2026

Despite an anonymous listener's elaborate groveling, the hosts of Motley Fool Money spend a Sunday mailbag episode wrestling with a question that is anything but trivial: given the recent exploit of a popular Bitcoin hardware wallet, is self-custody still a sane strategy, or is it time to just buy the ETF? The conversation quickly expands from this specific security incident into a broader, more nuanced discussion about the current market's high valuations, the unique nature of today's largest companies, and the proper use—and misuse—of investing wisdom.

The Cold Card Exploit and the Case for Simplicity

A recent security vulnerability in a hardware wallet, exploited using AI, resulted in the theft of Bitcoin from users who had done "the right thing" by taking self-custody. The hosts use this as a launching point to discuss a deeper principle: sophistication in security can be its own risk. While a healthy degree of paranoia is necessary for anyone holding their own keys, overcomplicating a setup—such as creating an overly elaborate multi-signature scheme—can lead to a different kind of failure. One host points to a practical, human risk: what happens if the key holder is incapacitated and their partner cannot access the funds? The advice is grounded in a memorable example: "Satoshi is sitting on a very old address format with no multi-sig and no passphrase, and he's got