Ledger, the digital asset security firm, announced that it raised a $380 million Series C round of funding. The investment was led by 10T and included Uphold, Financière Agache (Groupe Arnault) and several existing investors such as Cathay Innovation, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, and Draper Esprit.
The startup is best known for its USB hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies, where it has sold three million units. It claims to secure as much as 15% of all cryptocurrency assets globally. However, in March, it created a new division, Ledger Enterprise Solutions, to support its institutional custody platform Ledger Vault.
Ledger is also a partner in Komainu, the digital asset custody joint venture launched with Nomura and CoinShares, which raised $25 million in March.
Extending its investment in enterprise solutions was one of four areas where the company has plans for the new funding. The others were innovating its hardware products such as the USB device and further developing its proprietary operating system.
Ledger Live is another area where it wants to invest. This is a mobile portfolio tracking app with 1.5 million monthly users and can be used with or without the hardware wallet. In other words, it’s possible to keep up to date with valuations while keeping the cryptocurrency securely offline. Plans for the solution include adding transactional services to Ledger Live, such as for decentralized finance (DeFi).
With the latest funding, Ledger will add to its 300 headcount. Back in March, it said it had 50 people on the institutional side.
Meanwhile, institutional digital asset custody continues to be an acquisition area. Yesterday Gemini bought Shard X. In May, Galaxy Digital acquired BitGo for $1.2 billion and PayPal purchased Curv in March for $200 million.
The top conventional custodians are also active in the space. BNY Mellon is planning a solution and invested in Fireblocks. Three of the top five largest custodians – State Street, Citi and BNPPSS – are participating in Pyctor, the decentralized digital asset custody solution initiated by ING.
