Digital assets platform Ledger has raised €100 million in a Series C extension.
The French firm, which has sold more than six million ‘self-custody’ devices, maintains its valuation of €1.3 billion, achieved in the original €356m Series C round in 2021, despite the economic headwinds.
Listed UK VC Molten Ventures participated in the funding round alongside other existing investors including 10T, Cité Gestion Private Bank, Cap Horn, Morgan Creek, Cathay Innovation and Korelya Capital.
The extension round was also backed by new investors including True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group and VaynerFund.
Ledger claims to have secured more than 20% of the world’s cryptocurrencies and over 30% of the world’s NFTs.
Its expansion plans include easier onboarding and user experience in the world of Bitcoin and wallet-connected apps, and building and providing further services for its users including buying, swapping, earning yield on crypto, and exploring NFTs.
The company recently announced that the demand for its Ledger Stax device, launched in December 2022, had already exceeded supply, making it the most successful product launch in the Ledger’s history.
“2022 was a standout year for Ledger, culminating in the launch of Ledger Stax at Ledger Op3n in Paris. I’m excited to share that we’re starting 2023 where we left off — doubling down on our mission to bring self-custody to everyone,” said Pascal Gauthier, chairman and CEO.
“We’re glad to see our long term investors and partners are continuing to back us after a marquee year, and we welcome the new faces who are seeing the rapid digital value and hardware revolution that is coming and jumped on board.”
Martin Davis, CEO of Molten Ventures, commented: “This latest round is testament to the strength of Ledger’s business and its revolutionary technology that will continue to play a critical role in the future of crypto assets and blockchain far beyond what the bank can offer.”
Cryptocurrency shorts
The UK government has pledged to “robustly” regulate crypto as part of its plans to fight economic crime. A policy paper from the Treasury and Home Office said the steps highlight its “ambition to make the UK an attractive destination for cryptoassets and cryptoasset innovation in the world… challenging as it is, effective cryptoasset regulation benefits everyone, including consumers and firms”.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to additional charges: directing $40m in bribes to Chinese officials to unfreeze cryptoassets and campaign finance allegations. His lawyer said he is not acknowledging these charges as they came following his extradition from the Bahamas.
The Avalanche Foundation has launched an NFT initiative known as Avaissance. An Artist in Residence programme will provide funding, mentorship and virtual workshop sessions to more than 50 digital artists, each of whom will then release a collection of NFTs on the Avalanche blockchain. It also includes a collaborative digital art curation program called the Mona Lisa Initiative, which will give away NFTs to various digital art DAOs and create its own permanent collection.
LI.FI, a multi-chain liquidity and data gateway, has raised more than $17m in a Series A fundraise co-led by CoinFund and Superscrypt.
US banking giant Citigroup’s latest blockchain report estimates that mass crypto adoption is six to eight years away and will be driven by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the tokenization of financial, gaming and real-world assets.
Crypto prices
The overall market cap of the 23,100 coins is at $1.18 trillion at the time of writing (7am UK), a 0.8% decrease in the last 24 hours.
For round-ups of recent cryptocurrency news developments, click here.
For valuations of the top 100 coins by market cap in US dollars, plus 24-hour price change, see below.