Samsung Invests $2.9 Million Into Crypto Wallet Startup Ledger

Hardware cryptocurrency wallet manufacturer Ledger has secured 2.6 million euro ($2.9 million) from electronics giant Samsung, a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph on April 24.

While the Ledger spokesperson confirmed the investment, no further details beyond the initial investment amount were provided.

The news follows the appointment of Pascal Gauthier, the firm’s former president, as its new CEO. Former CEO Eric Larchevêque will now serve as Executive Chairman of the Ledger’s Board. He said in a letter that “in this role I will be able to properly focus on strategy and vision, while also overseeing regulator and government outreach, partnerships, customers, broader business relationships and technology thought leadership.”

Today, an anonymous source told cryptocurrency industry news outlet CoinDesk Korea that Samsung may end up developing a public-private blockchain complete with its own cryptocurrency token. The project, part of an undertaking by the company’s dedicated blockchain division, would see a blockchain mainnet appear based on the Ethereum network, along with a new asset dubbed Samsung Coin.

The source, who is purportedly in touch with the plans, said that “we expect Samsung Coin to come out in the market, but the direction has not yet been decided.”

As The Ledger reported on April 22, Samsung has delayed the launch of its $2,000 folding phone dubbed Galaxy Fold following a series of breakage issues. Several device reviewers reported the inside screens flickering, freezing, and finally dying on their test phones within the first few days. The repor also state that “substances found inside the device affected the display performance.”

Last December, researchers claimed that they were able to hack the Trezor One, Ledger Nano S and Ledger Blue cryptocurrency wallets, however Ledger argued that uncovered vulnerabilities in its hardware wallets were not critical.