Seize the BTC surge. Get a Bitcoin Edition Ledger Hardware Wallet now

Buy here

Up your Web3 game

Ledger Academy Quests

  • Test your knowledge
  • Earn POK NFTs
Play now See all quests

The Classroom

PATHWAY C) What is Ledger?

chapter 1/3

What is Ledger? The Ledger Ecosystem Explained

Read 4 min
Beginner
Ledger’s ecosystem provides absolute security against hacks for your private keys, ease of use for managing your assets, and transparency when signing transactions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
— Ledger devices are hardware crypto wallets that store your private keys offline.

— Ledger’s ecosystem comprises of its hardware devices, Ledger Live app, and its ever-growing ecosystem of apps.

— Ledger’s ecosystem provides absolute security against hacks for your private keys, ease of use for managing your assets, and transparency when signing transactions.

— In a nutshell, Ledger offers a secure gateway for exploring Web3 and learning about the self-custody of your crypto assets.

Put very simply, Ledger is a hardware wallet technology company with an ecosystem of tools promoting high-level crypto security. To explain, Ledger believes in secure self-custody, empowering you to take ownership of your private keys.

To do so, Ledger offers top-quality devices with cutting edge features, plus, the perfect companion app to help you manage your assets. But there’s a lot more to it than that.

Here’s an introduction to the Ledger ecosystem and how it provides the security baseline for anyone entering Web3.

Let’s explore the Ledger Ecosystem in full.

Ledger Devices Explained

Firstly, Ledger devices come in two main varieties; the Ledger Nano or the Ledger Stax. While they offer some different features, the ethos behind these devices is the same: Security & ease of use.

To achieve this goal, Ledger devices have a few important skills:

Securing Your Private Keys

Ledger devices generate your private keys in a completely offline environment – and keep them there. With your private keys isolated from an internet connection, they’ll stay protected from hackers and spyware on your laptop or smartphone.

Keeping Your Recovery Phrase Secret

Your recovery phrase is the backup of all the private keys stored in your wallet. It allows you to recover all your funds on any other wallet. This means that the recovery phrase’s security is as important as the private keys.
When using a software wallet, you are generating the recovery phrase online. This means that you are exposing your phrase (and, therefore your private keys) to an attack vector from the start.

By contrast, your Ledger device generates your secret recovery phrase and shows it to you on the device itself, which is always isolated from the internet. This means nobody can ever see it remotely via spyware, or look over your shoulder as you copy it down. It gives you peace of mind by ensuring the security of your recovery phrase from the beginning.

Authenticating Transactions on its Trusted Display

Your Ledger device serves as 2-factor authentication for your transactions. In other words, every single wallet interaction needs to be confirmed on the device itself. As a result, nobody can remotely interact with your crypto.

Then with its Trusted display, a Ledger device can also receive key data such as transaction details and your recovery phrase, in complete security. Unlike your computer screens, the Trusted Display of your Ledger device cannot be tampered with. This reduces the risk that comes with transacting with your crypto.

Ledger Live: Buy, Sell, Swap or Stake Your Assets

The next important part of the Ledger ecosystem is Ledger Live.

To explain, Ledger Live is an online interface that pairs with your device. Here, you can easily visualize and manage your crypto assets. As well as access a wide variety of services from within the Ledger ecosystem.

Ledger Live is your secure crypto wallet’s companion. It enables you to safely initiate and confirm transactions, install firmware on your device and manage your assets.

With the Ledger live Buy feature, you can access on and off-ramps, allowing you to buy cryptocurrencies with ease. Then with the earn dashboard, you have a choice of different staking providers to let you start earning cryptocurrencies too.

Finally, through the discover section you can access over 50+ apps and services including NFT managers, DeFi lending and borrowing platforms and much much more.

The best thing about Ledger Live is all apps and services within the platform benefit from Ledger’s secure gateway and clear signing plug in. That means you can access whichever staking, lending or borrowing platform knowing that you are accessing the official platform. Plus, you can sign transactions with confidence, having the full information displayed to you in human-readable language.

Together, these features keep you safe from online threats, but also from accidental mistakes.

Ledger: The Security Baseline for Web3

In conclusion, Ledger is an entire ecosystem of devices, software and supported apps. In short, there’s something for everyone at Ledger. Whether you want to vault your assets in a cold account on your Ledger device, or connect to countless apps and services through Ledger Live, you can rest assured that the Ledger ecosystem, alongside its worls-class security model, knows how to keep you safe. So, what are you waiting for? The Ledger Ecosystem is ready, but the question is: are you?


Stay in touch

Announcements can be found in our blog. Press contact:
[email protected]

Subscribe to our
newsletter

New coins supported, blog updates and exclusive offers directly in your inbox


Your email address will only be used to send you our newsletter, as well as updates and offers. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link included in the newsletter.

Learn more about how we manage your data and your rights.