Market News
Ledger Looking to Raise $100M as Investors Flock to Hardware Wallets
In the world of hardware wallets, Ledger is arguably the most well-known. Based on recent reports, it appears as though the company is not only managing to survive the latest market downturn, but actually thrive as it looks to raise a fresh round of capital at a valuation larger than it attained over a year ago.
Details of the Raise
While no official details have been released, it is believed that Ledger is looking to generate $100M in funding to continue expanding its operations. If successful, it would mean that Ledger will have attracted nearly $500M in under 18 months, on a valuation topping $1.5B.
Since its launch in 2014, Ledger indicates that it has amasses a customer base of over 4 million.
Financial Sovereignty
One of the core beliefs that led to the creation of Bitcoin, and various other digital assets over the years, is that of financial sovereignty. This means giving the holder of an asset complete ownership and control over it. Unfortunately for the past few years, this core belief has been diluted within the sector, as scores of projects have been launched solely with the goal of making creators rich, forgetting this important foundational pillar. Recent market events however, have re-highlighted the important over ownership/control.
Traditional centralized finance is extremely poor at facilitating this, requiring reliance upon scores of middle-men, while retaining the ability to utilize assets under its control as it sees fit. All issues which can result in ones money not being as secure as thought to be. As stated, the market collapse involving digital assets over the past few months has resulted in multiple examples of this among centralized platforms, with the following being a few prime examples.
- Celsius
- Voyager
- Vauld
Due to poor risk management that resulted in exposure to 3AC and TerraForm Labs, investors that stored funds with each of the aforementioned companies recently saw holdings frozen, with no power to stop it from happening. This is a risk taken every time someone entrusts holdings to another party.
By owning a hardware wallet, one re-gains the control over ones assets that has been slowly eroding over the decades. Yes, by acting as your own custodian there comes greater responsibility (i.e. private key storage), but the financial independence gained make it an easy trade-off.
Alternative Wallets
While Ledger is a great option for those looking to invest in a hardware wallet, it is by no means the only reputable option on the market. The following are a few others which offer similar experiences. These include,
- KeepKey
- Trezor
- CoolWallet
While each has its strengths, there is one shared trait that is the most important of all – users have full control over private keys.
Make sure to take a closer look at some of our hardware wallet reviews HERE, to determine which option is the best for you.
Alternative Storage Platforms
If not yet convinced on the merits of owning a hardware wallet, there are other options available. While it is acceptable to keep small amounts of capital on an exchange for the purpose of trading, the vast majority of options available are centralized platforms that do not offer users the ability to control private keys. This means that for storing assets any longer than a few days, one should full-heartedly consider using a mobile/desktop client at the bare minimum.
A mobile/desktop client is typically used for medium-term storage, and offers slightly better flexibility than hardware wallets. The fact remains however, that options in this category are typically hot-wallets. Meaning that they always maintain access to the internet – and are therefore more vulnerable to bad actors, unlike hardware wallets which are typically ‘cold‘ in nature. Top examples of such options include,
Each of these options have been around for years, and boast polished platforms full of useful features/capabilities. As previously stated, like any digital asset wallet, the most important part is that users have full control of private keys.
