Why I No longer Trust or Use Ledger Wallet

If you have been following development’s on the crypto world you may be aware of the Ledger Recover Saga. If not well here is a short version of it.

On May 16th 2023 it was leaked that Ledger was releasing a firmware for the Ledger hardware wallets that will allow them to get a copy of the secret seed. At first everyone thought this was some kind of phishing attempt since Ledger’s has been built on the premise that the seeds NEVER leave your device. So it was unconceivable that they will punch a firmware that for intent and purpose will create a backdoor on Ledger devices like de Ledger Nano X and upcoming Ledger Stax.

Not your keys not your crypto

On May17th 2023 Ledger confirmed the upcoming release of Ledger Recover. This optional paid service ($9.99/mo) will extract the seed from Ledger devices. Ledger said that this process was secure as the seed will be first encrypted and then divided into three pieces that will then be transmitted to three corporations one of them been Ledger itself. The customers will also be required to do KYC so that their identity bee confirmed in case they need to recover their keys.

The crypto community got mad and rightfully so. After years and years of Ledger claiming that there was no way for the keys to leave the device now suddenly they are offering a service that do exactly that. Thats the moment when trust in Ledger when out the window.

But is just an optional service, don’t want it don’t used

Well is not that simple. See the issue is not the service. While I think this service is an oxymoron for people using hardware wallets and is the same as using a custodian wallet the service on itself isn’t the issue. If Ledger had come with a new device designed specifically for this purpose and with the ability to extract the keys without affecting current Ledger devices this will be a non story. But know Ledger proved that they had been lying for years claiming. there was no way for the seed to leave the device when they had the ability to do it all this time.

Now this blatant deception combined with KYC is a total abuse of trust. But Ledger CEO and CTO all they have done is attack there customer for seeing past their deceptions. And all they have to say is “trust us bro” well no there will be any more trust on Ledger.

Not your keys not your crypto.

What about other hardware wallets? Can they not do the same.

In theory yes any hardware manufacturer can push a firmware update to extract the keys. But the difference is that hardware wallets like the Keystone Pro are open source unlike Ledger closed sources. What that means is that every firmware can be audited to make sure no backdoor or other shady stuff is been installed. Also this type of hardwares are air-gapped providing another level of security not present on Ledger devices.

Ledger out Keystone in

So do I recommend any hardware wallet? Yes the after mentioned Keystone Pro. This wallet is air-gapped and open source making it one of the most secure wallets on the market and certainly a better alternative to any Ledger wallet.

Learn More About The Keystone Pro Crypto hardware wallet here.