Serving the Crypto Community: Ledger’s CEO on Privacy and Self-Custody
Ledger, the Paris-based hardware wallet maker, faced backlash earlier this year over its recovery service that splits seed phrases into three shards. Customers were concerned about the reassembly of private keys and the potential for government subpoenas. In response, Ledger delayed the launch and emphasized that the service would be optional. Despite the drama, Ledger’s CEO Pascal Gauthier expects the recovery service to go live before the end of the year with open-source features.
A Surge in Self-Custody
The popularity of self-custody has grown significantly after numerous crypto startups collapsed in 2022, leaving users’ funds tied up. A surge in self-custody is evident from the decrease in ether held on exchanges. However, self-custody comes with risks, such as losing or mismanaging seed phrases. Gauthier believes that self-custody won’t scale if users have to save their seed phrases manually. He sees mechanisms like Ledger Recover as essential for scaling self-custody.
Privacy On-Demand
Gauthier also addresses privacy concerns. While major exchanges in Europe are delisting privacy coins, Ledger remains committed to supporting them. The company lobbied against regulations that could impact self-custody and succeeded. Gauthier believes self-custody is a fundamental human right. Ledger is working on providing optionality for both private transactions and situations where identifying information is required. Identity and privacy are key themes on Ledger’s roadmap for 2024 and 2025.
Hot Take: Striking a Balance Between Privacy and Security
Ledger’s CEO Pascal Gauthier acknowledges that serving the crypto community can be challenging, but he remains committed to providing solutions that meet the needs of users. Ledger Recover, despite the initial backlash, is set to launch with open-source features. Gauthier also emphasizes the importance of privacy and self-custody. He believes that mechanisms like Ledger Recover are necessary for scaling self-custody and that self-custody is a fundamental human right. Moving forward, Ledger aims to strike a balance between privacy and security, offering optionality to users while ensuring their assets are protected.
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