Amid Crypto Winter, Crypto Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger Seeks Fresh Funding

Although the crypto market has bounced back recently in the last two weeks, the signs of ‘crypto winter’ are not entirely over. With the regulatory onslaught, funding in the crypto space has shrunk considerably.

Despite the current headwinds, crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger is looking to raise a minimum of $100 million in fresh funding at a higher valuation. Last year in June 2021, the company raised $380 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion.

However, people familiar with the matter didn’t say what valuation the company is looking for now. As said, the recent fundraising from Ledger comes at a time when investments in the crypto sector have cooled down significantly.

However, there have been crypto firms that have seen their business grow this year. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported:

In Ledger’s case, the company’s business is growing, as an increasing number of crypto investors look to store their own coins instead of delegating the task to third parties following recent liquidity troubles at crypto exchange Zipmex and the bankruptcies of broker Voyager Digital and lender Celsius Network. A heightened desire for security is also helping drive Ledger’s business.

The Rising Demand for Hardware Wallets

As said, this year we have seen several crypto lenders and exchanges facing the heat of massive liquidations. Several of the exchanges have suspended withdrawals overnight.

As a result, investors in the crypto space are getting even more cautious of their crypto holdings. Thus, they are looking to move their crypto to cold wallets or hardware wallets to take absolute control of their assets. With Ledger being a leader in the hardware wallet space, it has benefitted from the rising demand.

Since its inception in 2014, Ledger sold more than 3 million hardware wallets to date. Over the last eight years, the company has consistently grown in size.

Interestingly, as per the recent announcement, Ledger is stepping into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Last week, Ledger announced its own NFT marketplace which will host NFTs from different artists and brands.