Hardware wallet provider Ledger has secured a 100 million euros ($109 million) Series C funding round extension, which values the company at 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion). As reported by Bloomberg on March 30, this places the company’s current valuation in line with its previous funding round in June 2021. The funding is the first of three investment rounds, with a second closing scheduled for April and a third to be announced at a later date due to high investor interest. The capital raised will be used to expand Ledger’s distribution network, increase production, and develop new products.
Ledger’s new investors include VaynerFund, Cité Gestion SPV, True Global Ventures, and Digital Finance Group, while its previous investors include Morgan Creek, Cathay Innovation, Draper Dragon, and Cap Horn, among others.
Ledger is proud to announce our Series C extension fundraising round.
We continue our mission of bringing ease-of-use and uncompromised security to your digital value.
Read what our CEO @_pgauthier has to say: pic.twitter.com/aGi2FhOXCs
— Ledger (@Ledger) March 30, 2023
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week, Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier noted that recent collapses of crypto exchanges and banks had resulted in increased awareness around self-custody of cryptocurrencies. He said, “Whenever the market gets stressed and whenever people fear for their savings, you know, they rush to crypto and to Ledger.”
Following the dramatic collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, Ledger reportedly had its best month of sales in November. The company’s revenue from Ledger Live’s buy-and-sell crypto app has grown 200% in the past 12 months. Similarly, hardware wallet provider Trezor also experienced a boost in sales revenue, reporting a 300% surge as a result of investors seeking to rescue their funds.
Ledger boasts that it stores more than 20% of crypto assets in circulation and 30% of the non-fungible tokens supply. The company has recently hired Tony Fadell, who helped build the iPhone, to design a new version of its hardware wallet.
Industry figures have encouraged crypto self-custody, including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who said in November that “Self custody is a fundamental human right. You are free to do it anytime. Just make sure you do it right,” while advising investors to start small and learn the technology.
