EP - 80
Ledger Enterprise Tradelink: Speed, Governance, and Governance at Scale
with
Sebastien Badault & Ian Rogers
EVP of Enterprise & CXO @ Ledger
Dec 30, 2023
In this episode of the On The Ledger Podcast, Chief Experience Officer Ian Rogers sits down with EVP of Enterprise, Sebastian Badault, to discuss the launch of Ledger Enterprise TradeLink—a groundbreaking solution that allows financial institutions to trade without using exchanges for custody. The conversation reveals how the 2022 crypto meltdown fundamentally shifted institutional priorities, creating urgent demand for products that combine the speed of traditional trading with the unparalleled security of self-custody.
“The market shifted from focusing primarily on exchanges, connectivity, and speed to asset managers saying they just did not want to leave their money on exchanges anymore—it was deemed too dangerous.” – Sebastian Badault
Key Highlights:
The Post-FTX Reality: From Speed to Security
The crypto industry’s institutional landscape underwent a seismic shift following the FTX collapse in 2022. Where institutions previously prioritized exchange connectivity and trading speed above all else, the discovery that hundreds of millions in assets were managed on hardware wallets with “absolutely no governance—just an Excel sheet”—exposed the industry’s critical maturity gap. Sebastian reveals that conversations with asset managers managing hundreds of millions on Ledger Nanos completely changed after 2022. While these institutions were once proud of their security setup using Ledger devices, they suddenly understood the critical importance of proper governance structures when operating at an institutional scale.
The Governance Gap: Beyond Individual Self-Custody
The episode highlights a crucial distinction between individual and institutional self-custody. Ian shares a telling anecdote about an investment organization that lost access to $5 million in crypto because their head of IT—who held the recovery phrase—couldn’t be located. This illustrates why individual-focused security models, no matter how robust, cannot scale to meet institutional requirements for operational security and internal controls..
“Your level of governance can’t be ‘the recovery phrase is with our most trustworthy IT person.’ You need proper operational security for institutions, not just individuals.” – Ian Rogers
Ledger Enterprise: The Industry’s Best-Kept Secret
Sebastian reveals that Ledger has been serving institutional clients for over five years, making Ledger Enterprise the “best-kept secret” in the industry. The business model has evolved similarly to Ledger’s consumer offerings—starting with pure custody and expanding to include staking, tokenization, and now trading infrastructure.
This evolution reflects the broader maturation of crypto markets, where institutional players now demand complete service suites rather than point solutions. The parallel development of B2B and B2C offerings has allowed Ledger to apply learnings across both markets, creating synergies in product development and market understanding.
Ledger Enterprise TRADELINK: Solving the Custody-Trading Trilemma
Ledger Enterprise TRADELINK addresses a fundamental problem: asset managers want to minimize counterparty risk, exchanges want trading volume without additional custody exposure, and custodians need scalable infrastructure to attract institutional clients. The solution creates a three-party architecture that benefits all participants by enabling off-exchange trading and settlement. Funds remain with a qualified custodian in a segregated collateral account, secured by Ledger’s technology, and are never held directly by the exchange. This mirrors traditional finance’s central clearing counterparty model, providing the familiar, risk-minimized environment that institutional players expect.
A Market Ready for Mature Solutions
The launch of TradeLink coincides with a perfect storm of market trends. The entry of major financial players like BlackRock and Fidelity via ETFs signals broad acceptance of crypto as a legitimate asset class. Simultaneously, increasing regulatory scrutiny demands the transparency, auditability, and robust governance that Ledger Enterprise provides. After the painful lessons of 2022, the market is no longer willing to compromise on security, creating ideal conditions for a solution built on Ledger’s core principles.
“In traditional finance, institutions lead, and retail follows. In crypto, it’s the inverse—the market was built by retail investors. That’s changing now.” – Sebastian Badault
Watch the episode here:
Reading List
Learn more about these topics mentioned in the episode, or explore our library of articles on Ledger Academy: