Crypto storage company Ledger opens Vault early access program

A six strong group of leading digital asset investors, traders and platform providers today announced their participation in a new program to develop security and compliance solutions for digital assets.

Having sold more than 1m+ Nano S hardware wallets for digital assets, cryptosecurity leader Ledger has created an early access program for the Ledger Vault, the first enterprise-grade security solution for digital assets.

Genesis Trading, Global Advisors, LCX, IronChain Capital, XBTO, and Smart Valor are participating in Ledger Vault early access program

With the ten largest digital assets alone reaching total combined market capitalizations of $300bn+, institutional investors are actively exploring ways to gain exposure to a rapidly emerging asset class. One in five finance firms is considering launching crypto trading and investment businesses in the coming year.

Despite a rapid rise in the number of specialist digital asset investment funds and operations and the establishment of digital asset trading desks within traditional banks, investors currently lack the robust compliance frameworks and security tools to safeguard assets effectively. Currently, digital asset investors face a number of security and compliance challenges, from hack attempts to physical safety risks (e.g. kidnapping or assault) and non-compliant trading activity.

“The secure enterprise solution for custody of crypto assets such as Ledger Vault in combination with regulatory approval as the winning formula in the crypto space today and we are excited to be the first Financial Intermediary company to achieve this,” said Olga Feldmeier, CEO of SMART VALOR. The company is on the cusp of receiving the status of Financial Intermediary (AML-Licence) in Switzerland enabling it to provide custody service to third parties. “We are capitalizing on the regulatory solution previously achieved here in Switzerland to ensure that our customers have not only secure solutions, but also to ensure that we’re operating in a fully compliant environment,” said Feldmeier, who led the licensing process for Xapo, one of the largest Bitcoin custodians today.

While individual retail investors are able to secure digital assets with individual hardware wallets, these products lack core features required in an enterprise environment. Ledger Vault will protect institutional investors from the operational risks of trading digital assets, allowing, for the first time, asset managers and custodians to conveniently trade this new class of asset without compromising on security.

Ledger’s Vault product enables:

• Asset security through HSMs (Hardware Security Modules)
• Support for multiple digital asset and currency types
• Multi-signature approvals, enabling compliance oversight of individual transactions with granular controls and approval options
• Rate limiting controls, providing compliance oversight of individual transaction and trading activity

This functionality is made possible by three core Vault components:

1. A Hardware Security Module, or ‘HSM’, which secures a private master seed, used to authenticate individual keys used to operate the Vault on a day to day basis;
2. An authentication system, utilizing multiple Ledger authenticators, with each device controlling one private transaction key. Combined, these devices authenticate, review and control transaction and trading activity;
3. A software package, used by individual investors and traders to manage their transaction and trading activity

The Ledger Vault is the only digital asset security solution that gives investors full control of their assets. In coming months, Ledger will work alongside their partners at Genesis Trading, Global Advisors, LCX, IronChain Capital, XBTO, and Smart Valor to test and develop hardware and software security features for digital assets, before the wider availability of the Ledger Vault to institutional investors later in 2018.