Ledger, a maker of hardware wallets, has raised $109 million as part of a Series C funding round extension, valuing the company at $1.4 billion.
The initial of three investment rounds is the fundraising. Due to “high investor interest,” a second closing is anticipated in April, followed by a third funding at a later time.
The money will go into increasing manufacturing, developing new items, and expanding the company’s distribution system. VaynerFund, Cité Gestion SPV, True Global Ventures, and Digital Finance Group are among the new investors in Ledger. Morgan Creek, Cathay Innovation, Draper Dragon, and Cap Horn are just a few of the previous investors.
Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier stated that the recent failure of crypto exchanges and banks has increased awareness about crypto self-custody in an interview at Paris Blockchain Week.
“Whenever the market gets stressed and whenever people fear for their savings, you know, they rush to crypto and to Ledger,”
Following the abrupt demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Ledger apparently experienced its best sales month in November. The company claims that revenue from the cryptocurrency buy-and-sell app Ledger Live has increased by 200% over the last year. Trezor, a maker of hardware wallets, also benefited from the FTX failure; the company reported a 300% increase in sales revenue as a result of investors saving their money.
Ledger asserts to have 30% of the total amount of non-fungible tokens and more than 20% of all crypto assets in use. The business recently hired Tony Fadell, the man behind the iPhone, to create a new iteration of its hardware wallet. Leading professionals in the field have also endorsed crypto self-custody.
“Self custody is a fundamental human right. You are free to do it anytime. Just make sure you do it right,”
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, advised investors to start small and become familiar with the technology in November.
