Today, crypto wallet and blockchain security firm Ledger announced it has obtained a crime insurance policy for digital assets. It covers assets stored in the Ledger Vault platform for up to $150 million in a policy designed with Marsh and UK-based Arch Insurance, with the risk underwritten by Lloyd’s syndicates.
Ledger produces hardware wallets and software solutions for securing digital assets. It is perhaps best known for the Nano physical wallet, of which the firm has sold over 1.5 million devices. Two years ago, the Nano S was infamously hacked by a teenager. But today’s insurance policy covers assets in Ledger Vault, a separate platform for financial institutions.
Vault combines hardware devices and an online portal, with multi-authorization and tailored permissions capabilities. Now, clients using Vault can benefit from $150 million in cover for third-party theft, insider collusion, and master seed theft during onboarding. The firm obtained the insurance at no extra cost to Vault users.
Arch and Marsh announced their digital asset protection product two months ago. The coverage was, again, $150 million, but for keys held in a traditional vault. Today, the firms have agreed to offer the same coverage for the very non-traditional Vault platform.
“We spent over 6 months working with the Ledger Vault team to develop a customized offering for their clients,” said Arch’s James Croome. “Ledger took the time to educate us on every detail of the end-to-end security and governance that the Vault platform provides. This $150 million policy underscores just how impressed we are with the security technology platform they’ve built.”
Ledger’s CEO, Pascal Gauthier, thinks the policy marks an important step in institutional digital asset use. “We consider insurance a crucial part of a comprehensive plan as digital assets gain a foothold in institutional portfolios,” he said.
Gauthier continued: “As a new class of assets, securing digital currencies has become a complex challenge for both institutions and insurers. Through our efforts with Marsh and Arch to curate this comprehensive crime insurance policy, we are playing a pivotal role in the movement to secure and insure all critical digital assets.”
Marsh’s Jennifer Hustwitt, SVP of the global Digital Asset Risk Transfer Team, said: “As this asset class matures, we are focused on structuring insurance programs that align with how the underlying technology functions. This Ledger insurance program marks the next chapter in the burgeoning insurance market for digital asset risks.”
Indeed, as we reported four months ago, the co-lead of Hustwitt’s team noted that: “Carriers a year ago who were not in the [digital asset] space are now starting to offer coverage because they really don’t want to miss out.”
Munich Re also provides $50 million of digital asset cover for blockchain wallet firm Curv. Meanwhile, BitGo offers $100 million of protection through Lloyd’s plus corporate wallet cover.
