What is Ledger?: The Most Secure Self-Custody Option

The security of your crypto hinges on where you store the private key.

By this point, you’ll be aware that the main threats to the private key come from your internet connection. So, the first order of business should be making sure it always stays offline.

That’s where Ledger comes in.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the Ledger ecosystem, the role of its three pillars, and why Ledger provides the security baseline for anyone entering Web3.

Ledger: 3 pillars of security

Crypto wallets need to strike a very fine balance between two things: being able to keep your keys offline and being convenient to use. Ideally, a crypto wallet must also provide transparency, showing you full details of your transactions so that you don’t need to blind sign.

To achieve this, Ledger has created an ecosystem consisting of three pillars.

1) Ledger Nano: Secure your private keys

Ledger Nano is a hardware wallet that generates your private keys in a completely offline environment – and keeps them there, always.

With your private keys isolated from internet connection, they’ll stay out of reach of hackers and digital threats. No matter how sophisticated the scam, it simply cannot reach your private keys as long as they’re in a Ledger.

Keep your recovery phrase secret

When you use a hot wallet, you’d have to generate the recovery phrase online. In this case, your funds would be compromised from the very start, since you have no way of knowing who has seen that phrase, be it remotely or over your shoulder.

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

Authenticate every transaction

And finally, your Ledger Nano serves as a 2-factor authentication for your transactions. Every single wallet interaction needs to be confirmed on the device itself. As a result, nobody can remotely interact with your crypto, which might be possible in the case of digital wallets.

2) Ledger Live App: view and manage your Portfolio

Ledger Live is our native app that works in tandem with your Nano. If the Ledger Nano secures your crypto, the Ledger Live App makes it easy to use.

Ledger Live App is an online interface where you can visualize and manage all of your crypto assets on an easy-to-use interface. So, whether you want to send or receive crypto, organize your portfolio, or simply check the balance of your accounts, you can do that easily on the Ledger Live app.

All this while, your keys stay securely within the hardware device itself.

3) Ledger Live App Catalog: goodbye blind signing

Leddger is on a mission to bring complete transparency to every transaction you sign – this is where our catalog of integrated apps comes on.

Clear Signing with integrated apps

The Discovery section of the Ledger Live App is where we list apps that have been integrated within the Ledger ecosystem. These have been designed specifically to work with your hardware device.

For every integrated app, you’ll be able to see the full details of your smart contract transactions, on the screen of the Ledger Nano itself.

Tamper-proof Trusted Display

Unlike your computer screen or hot wallet interface, the Trusted Display of your Ledger Nano cannot be tampered with by anyone or anything, meaning you can trust every detail you see there. These features mean no more uncertainty and no more blind signing.

This is the absolute frontier of crypto transparency. No other device or system can offer you this level of certainty regarding the contracts you sign.

Ledger: security baseline for Web3

At Ledger, we keep your crypto safe. And we do it better than anyone else.

Now that you understand the three pillars of our system and how they interact, let’s focus on each one in turn. In the coming articles, we’ll take a deep dive into the device itself, the Ledger Live App and how our growing list of integrations is creating a secure gateway for you to explore Web3.