Why choose a Ledger?

Mel Nahas : With all the choices of hardware wallets, why should I buy a Ledger?  

First reason, the chip. It’s called a SECURE ELEMENT.

It uses technology used only in biometric passports and secure bank cards. 

Ledger devices use a secure element from ST Micro, “The  world leader in microelectronics”. This chip has onboard its own secure memory and directly controls the screen and buttons. 

It runs Ledger’s in-house-developed operating system, BOLOS.  

When you sign transactions using a Ledger device, you can be sure that “what you see is what you sign”.

On your phone, you can’t be certain that what you see is the same as what happens underneath, but with Ledger devices, you can…

Other chips are as secure as these… Now comes the second reason… No fortress is impenetrable.  This is why Ledger invests in its own attack lab, which we call “the Donjon”. 

No fortress is impenetrable.  This is why Ledger invests in its own attack lab, the Donjon.  

Yes, we actually pay people to try to break our OWN products, and those of our competitors’, to raise the bar for the security of the whole industry.  It’s imperative we find any security weaknesses before the thieves do. When we find vulnerabilities we follow responsible disclosure, notifying the company and giving them time to patch before we ultimately publish the attack. I would have loved to show you the Donjon, but it’s such a protected place that they wouldn’t even let ME in, let alone a whole film crew.

And that’s why we’re shooting this one in a cafeteria, 200 kilometers away.

Unfortunately, many weaknesses in other hardware wallets are “architectural”, meaning there is no way to fix them without changing the fundamental nature of the product.  

For example, software wallets can be broken by anyone with some hacking skills. Software wallets are reliant on the security of your phone or computer, which is a moving target and why you shouldn’t put ANYTHING you value in them.

And this is why Ledger devices are the most popular choice.

Next, we show you how to get the most out of your Ledger Nano with Ledger Live.