Ledger Raises $75 Million in Series B Funding Round
- After selling a million hardware wallets in 2017, the firm is now targeting banks and hedge funds.

The France-based cryptocurrency-storing hardware wallet manufacturing firm Ledger has raised $75 million (61 million euroד) in a Series B funding round.
The round was led by the UK-headquartered venture capital firm Draper Esprit. The names of the investors include FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Korelya Capital. Ledger's existing investors - CapHorn Invest, GDTRE and Digital Currency Group - also participated in the funding round. According to Ledger, the round was oversubscribed.
Ledger had its first fundraising last year. It raised $7 million.
The interesting thing about Ledger is that within only a few of years of its launch it is already turning a profit - a very unusual thing in the startup industry. The firm reported a revenue of 46 million euros in 2017 grossing from the US, Europe, and Asia, while in 2016, the figure was a mere 600,000 euros. The sales figures completely back this growth, as in 2017 alone the firm sold 1 million units of its hardware wallets, compared to only 3,000 in the previous year.
The growing crypto craze is the key to Ledger’s success. Also, the security concerns of storing valuable crypto assets within software wallets drove investors to get a hardware wallet. And this is where Ledger came in, providing a thumb drive-based hardware wallet with added security features designed to store Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term.
The high demand for the hardware wallet has created a massive backlog of orders for the company. Currently, there is a waiting period of over a month.
With the raised money, the company aims to increase production and expand its business worldwide.
Coindesk quoted Eric Larcheveque, CEO of Ledger: “These funds will be used to keep investing significantly in R&D while scaling our operations and deploying our teams globally.”
The company also wants to move towards providing a software solution for financial firms. It is planning to introduce Ledger Vault, a security solution which can be used by banks, hedge funds, and other corporations.
“Eventually we’ll be able to put our software on other hardware - that’s a hint at our future roadmap,” said Larcheveque.
The France-based cryptocurrency-storing hardware wallet manufacturing firm Ledger has raised $75 million (61 million euroד) in a Series B funding round.
The round was led by the UK-headquartered venture capital firm Draper Esprit. The names of the investors include FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Korelya Capital. Ledger's existing investors - CapHorn Invest, GDTRE and Digital Currency Group - also participated in the funding round. According to Ledger, the round was oversubscribed.
Ledger had its first fundraising last year. It raised $7 million.
The interesting thing about Ledger is that within only a few of years of its launch it is already turning a profit - a very unusual thing in the startup industry. The firm reported a revenue of 46 million euros in 2017 grossing from the US, Europe, and Asia, while in 2016, the figure was a mere 600,000 euros. The sales figures completely back this growth, as in 2017 alone the firm sold 1 million units of its hardware wallets, compared to only 3,000 in the previous year.
The growing crypto craze is the key to Ledger’s success. Also, the security concerns of storing valuable crypto assets within software wallets drove investors to get a hardware wallet. And this is where Ledger came in, providing a thumb drive-based hardware wallet with added security features designed to store Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term.
The high demand for the hardware wallet has created a massive backlog of orders for the company. Currently, there is a waiting period of over a month.
With the raised money, the company aims to increase production and expand its business worldwide.
Coindesk quoted Eric Larcheveque, CEO of Ledger: “These funds will be used to keep investing significantly in R&D while scaling our operations and deploying our teams globally.”
The company also wants to move towards providing a software solution for financial firms. It is planning to introduce Ledger Vault, a security solution which can be used by banks, hedge funds, and other corporations.
“Eventually we’ll be able to put our software on other hardware - that’s a hint at our future roadmap,” said Larcheveque.