Binance Labs has made a strategic investment in the Belgian hardware wallet firm Ngrave and will lead its upcoming Series A round.
Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, is moving into the hardware wallet market. On November 21, the company disclosed that Binance Labs, its venture capital division, had made a strategic investment in Belgian hardware wallet company Ngrave and would be managing the company’s upcoming Series A financing.
Ngrave, a self-custody company founded in 2018, offers a security suite made up of three main components: the Liquid mobile app, the Graphene key backup tool, and the connectionless hardware wallet Zero.
Security continues to be one of the largest obstacles to the adoption of cryptocurrencies, according to Yi He, co-founder of the crypto exchange and head of Binance Labs. “Self-custodial wallets are one of the most secure methods for storing digital assets,” He said, adding that Binance is looking to continue backing startups that enhance user security.
“Binance Labs is excited to capitalize on the emerging hardware wallet sector and partner with Ngrave to bring sophisticated wallet products to both retail and institutional users,” Binance Labs investment director Tyler Z added.
Ngrave is not the only manufacturer of hardware wallets in the portfolio of Binance Labs. Through its incubator program, it has previously made an investment in SafePal, a manufacturer of hardware wallets, in 2018.
Additionally, the crypto exchange has been incorporating SafePal’s solution into its platform; in October, the SafePal Mini App was added to the Binance app. Early in November, Binance also established a partnership with hardware wallet developer Ledger to enable Binance customers to make direct cryptocurrency purchases using their bank cards via the Ledger app.
As previously reported, the hardware wallet market is expanding quickly, while many centralized crypto exchanges are struggling to keep their doors open as a result of the prolonged crypto winter.
By safeguarding their own private keys, hardware wallets give consumers greater control over their money than exchanges do. Data from various research published in July suggest that the crypto hardware wallet market may soon develop more quickly than exchanges.
On November 14, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao even acknowledged that as investors turn to self-custodial options, centralized exchanges might become obsolete.
“If we can have a way to allow people to hold their own assets in their own custody securely and easily, that 99% of the general population can do it, centralized exchanges will not exist or probably don’t need to exist, which is great,” Zhao said.
The most recent information comes shortly after Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier argued that Trust Wallet, a software wallet owned by Binance, must provide users with a Ledger Connect option in order to offer a higher level of security.
On November 13, the CEO claimed in a tweet, “Otherwise it’s just hazardous.” With the connection option, Trust Wallet users can essentially store their keys on a Ledger device as opposed to a PC or a mobile device.
According to a Trust Wallet spokeswoman, the platform will soon make its connection with Ledger Connect available as it is a major priority. As long as they remember their secret phrase or private key, Trust Wallet users have “full recoverability” for accessing their funds on a chain, the representative emphasized.
