Key Takeaways
- • Ledger, a French hardware wallet manufacturer, secured $75 million in Series B funding led by European venture capital firm Draper Esprit, representing one of the largest blockchain-related funding rounds to date.
- • The Series B round significantly exceeds comparable cryptocurrency infrastructure deals, dwarfing BitGo's $42.5 million and Blockchain's $40 million Series B rounds completed in 2017.
- • Ledger's secure hardware wallets address a critical market need: enabling offline storage of bitcoin and ethereum holdings to mitigate hacking risk as cyber-attacks on cryptocurrency platforms escalate.
- • CEO Eric Larcheveque stated the capital will fund research and development initiatives and global operational expansion, positioning Ledger as a "technological giant in the promising space of cryptocurrencies."
- • The timing reflects heightened institutional and retail demand for secure cryptocurrency custody, following high-profile security breaches at NiceHash and South Korean exchange Youbit in late 2017.
Summary
Ledger, a Paris-based developer of hardware cryptocurrency wallets, has closed a $75 million Series B funding round led by Draper Esprit, marking a significant capital infusion for the emerging blockchain security sector. The round is characterized as one of the largest venture financings for a blockchain-focused company, substantially outpacing earlier Series B achievements by competitors BitGo and Blockchain, which raised $42.5 million and $40 million respectively during 2017.
The company's hardware wallets function as secure, offline storage solutions for digital assets, allowing users to hold bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrency holdings outside internet-connected systems. This offline-custody model addresses a critical vulnerability in the cryptocurrency ecosystem: the susceptibility of online exchanges and digital platforms to sophisticated cyber-attacks. The timing of the funding aligns with elevated security concerns across the industry, exemplified by the NiceHash mining network breach that resulted in tens of millions of dollars in stolen digital tokens and the subsequent bankruptcy filing by Youbit following a hack that compromised 17 percent of its cryptocurrency holdings.
CEO Eric Larcheveque highlighted that the Series B capital represents a strategic milestone in Ledger's evolution since the company's founding three years prior. According to Larcheveque's statement, proceeds will be allocated toward accelerating research and development capabilities and scaling international operations. The investment underscores investor confidence in Ledger's positioning within the expanding cryptocurrency infrastructure market, where secure asset custody remains a foundational requirement for mainstream institutional and retail adoption.
The company's hardware wallets function as secure, offline storage solutions for digital assets, allowing users to hold bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrency holdings outside internet-connected systems. This offline-custody model addresses a critical vulnerability in the cryptocurrency ecosystem: the susceptibility of online exchanges and digital platforms to sophisticated cyber-attacks. The timing of the funding aligns with elevated security concerns across the industry, exemplified by the NiceHash mining network breach that resulted in tens of millions of dollars in stolen digital tokens and the subsequent bankruptcy filing by Youbit following a hack that compromised 17 percent of its cryptocurrency holdings.
CEO Eric Larcheveque highlighted that the Series B capital represents a strategic milestone in Ledger's evolution since the company's founding three years prior. According to Larcheveque's statement, proceeds will be allocated toward accelerating research and development capabilities and scaling international operations. The investment underscores investor confidence in Ledger's positioning within the expanding cryptocurrency infrastructure market, where secure asset custody remains a foundational requirement for mainstream institutional and retail adoption.
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