Quick take:
- Ledger has announced the first close of a $108 million fundraising.
- The crypto wallet company is extending its Series C round announced in June 2021.
- The company plans to raise the total amount across three rounds.
Ledger has announced a €100 million (approximately $108 million) extended fundraising for its Series C round. The new fund will be raised in three tranches according to a report by Bloomberg, with the first tranche closed before today’s announcement.
The fundraising comes on the heels of last year’s increased crypto exploits that seem to have pushed more crypto traders towards hard wallets.
Ledger is a French-based crypto hard wallet maker. Its devices are used to store wallet private keys offline protecting trader assets from exploits in the event of a platform breach.
In 2021, the company raised €356 million— approximately $385 million at a valuation of €1.3 billion ~$1.41 billion based on today’s exchange rate. That extended round is being raised at the same valuation according to TechCrunch.
Speaking to French Capital on Thursday, Pascal Gauthier, Ledger’s Chief Executive Officer highlighted the risks of using digital wallets to hold crypto assets, using last year’s events that saw some of the leading crypto companies exploited. Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge breach was the biggest hack in years. Collapsed crypto exchange company FTX also disappeared with trader funds.
“Suddenly people were like ‘wow, to leave crypto on an exchange is actually dangerous,” said Gauthier. “And 2023 is even better for us because now you can’t even leave money at a Swiss bank.”
Ledger seems to be benefitting from the last year’s crypto turmoil, which explains the perfect timing for the extension of its Series C round.
According to Gauthier, Ledger will use the fresh funding to grow the business by expanding its network of distributors, boosting production and developing its products.
The rising interest in hardware wallets can also be seen in the company’s growing list of partners. Recently, Trust Wallet, an internet-based crypto wallet service provider integrated Ledger to add another layer of security to its web extension.
Last June, Ledger also launched its own NFT marketplace, Ledger Market, focused on offering a secure and transparent NFT trading experience.
In December, the company also unveiled a new security hardware device, Ledger Stax, designed by American engineer and iPod builder, Tony Fadell. The new credit-sized device is integrated with magnets to make it easily stackable, enabling users to view a completed transaction’s details easily.
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