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Ledger, a security startup for blockchain and cryptocurrencies, known for its bitcoin hardware wallets has today announced the closing of a $7 million series A funding led by MAIF Avenir, with the participation of Xange, Wicklow Capital, GDTRE, Libertus Capital, Digital Currency Group, The Whittemore Collection, Kima Ventures, BHB Network and Nicolas Pinto.
This latest investment follows a smaller $1.5 million round in 2015 led by Xange and brings the total funding to $8.5 million. Headquartered in Paris, with an office in San Francisco, the total funding is one of Europe’s largest blockchain company based capital investments date.
Ledger designs a line of products for the cryptocurrency and blockchain market: hardware wallets for consumers, server appliances for enterprise and embedded solutions for connected objects.
The company’s flagship products are the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Blue, hardware wallets for securing cryptocurrencies and digital identities. With more than 50,000 units sold in 130 countries.
Ledger says that planned next for 2017 will be the launch of enterprise-grade cryptocurrency security solutions (multi-signature, multi-currency, time-locked payments), targeting marketplaces, hedge funds, and financial institutions.
Eric Larchevêque, CEO of Ledger was quoted saying:
“Ledger has seen tremendous growth in the last months, and we are on track to increase tenfold our revenues this year.”
“Our primary objective is to reinforce our position as a global market leader on hardware wallet products, while we accelerate the development of enterprise cryptocurrency solutions through the signature of soon to be announced strategic partnership agreements.”
“We are also actively pursuing research & development on hardware oracle technology with key industrial customers for smart grid, supply chain and insurance blockchain use cases.”
Jean-Marc Willmann, Deputy General Director, MAIF talks about confidence in leading the series A round:
“By investing in Ledger, MAIF intends to contribute to the development of the blockchain ecosystem, a new source of confidence to record transactions, based on peer-to-peer exchanges. MAIF is proud to support Ledger into its objective to become the world leader in distributed trust.”
Cyril Bertrand, Managing Partner at XAnge said:
“We are delighted to co-lead this new round of funding and renew our trust after XAnge’s seed investment in 2015. As we hear from many customers of Ledger, we believe it is one the most trustworthy teams of security experts in the world”
Barry Silbert, Founder, and CEO of Digital Currency Group said:
“We believe Ledger’s hardware and software solutions will be critical to the broader adoption of blockchain technology by both consumers and enterprises. Bringing Ledger into DCG’s global ecosystem of companies will help accelerate collaboration and innovation around security, a critical skill for any company leveraging applied cryptography or blockchain technology”
Gabriele Domenichini, Head of Venture at BHB Network said:
“In a world that desperately need data protection, Ledger has been the first to use secure chip technology to protect data and application in a way the user can adopt. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications are the ideal training ground for Ledger to expand to many other aspects of cybersecurity”
“Securing blockchain assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is one of the greatest challenges in the digital asset space currently. Ledger is the leader in this field both for individuals and enterprises.”
In the longer run, Ledger said it aims to capitalize on industrial blockchain use cases with the ultimate objective to license its hardware oracle technology to top players of the smart grid, supply chain, and IoT security field.
It was also announced today that Jean-Marc Willmann from MAIF joined Ledger’s Board of Directors.
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