Ledger hardware wallet provider sees 500% revenue surge in Q1

Ledger, a leading cryptocurrency security and infrastructure company, reported a dramatic increase in first-quarter sales, underscoring the strength of the bull market through the first three months of 2021. 

Revenues surged over 500% between January and March, the company reported Wednesday. Ledger said it was profitable during the quarter, but didn’t disclose actual figures.

Ledger is the company behind the Ledger Nano S and Nano X hardware wallets, which allow users to self-custody digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC). It competes for market share with Trezor and several other lesser-known wallets.

“The entire industry is in hyper-growth, and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier, touting his company’s “talented and hard-working team.” 

Ledger is expanding its in-house capacity significantly, with over 150 open positions needing to be filled. On Wednesday, the company announced that it had filled two executive positions headed by former leaders of eToro and Opera. The company recently filled the role of vice president of NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, as it expands its services to artists and NFT management.

Importantly, Ledger appears to have recovered from a high-profile leak in December 2020 that exposed 270,000 crypto wallet buyers. The company affirmed that the security breach did not affect the safety of user funds. Nevertheless, it resulted in a negative public relations backlash against the company.

It remains to be seen whether companies like Ledger will continue their rapid expansion in the face of broader market headwinds. Crypto markets sold off sharply on Wednesday, with Bitcoin sliding below $40,000 and the broader altcoin market following suit. Peak to trough, the market shed $1 trillion from its mid-May high of around $2.5 trillion.