Ledger Unveils Crypto Debit Card, Partnership With FTX
- The so called Visa Crypto Life card will be launched in the U.K., Germany, and France in Q1 of 2022, while the U.S. release is scheduled for Q2.
- Ledger also partnered with FTX, giving its Ledger Live users access to the exchange’s liquidity, leverage, and trading options.
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Hardware wallet provider Ledger will be launching a new crypto debit card enabling users to pay for goods and services using their digital assets, the company said on Twitter on 9 December.
The so called Visa Crypto Life card, released in partnership with Baanx, was revealed during Ledger’s biannual Op3n conference in Paris on Thursday. During the card’s presentation, the company claimed it will allow users to spend their crypto in over 50 million retailers, and that it will initially support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT).
Expected to launch in the U.K., Germany, and France in the first quarter of 2022 — and in the U.S. in the second quarter — the card will be connected to the company’s desktop and mobile app Ledger Live, enabling users to conveniently buy, swap, and stake their crypto. Unlike other crypto cards that only convert crypto into fiat before the sale, Crypto Life will also allow its users to obtain a line of credit using their crypto as collateral, as well as automatically convert their salary into crypto.
Ledger also announced a partnership with the FTX exchange today, providing its Ledger Live users with access to the exchange’s liquidity, leverage, and trading options. The move is designed to improve user experience by giving them quick access to trading, while their assets remain fully secured. The CEO of Ledger, Pascal Gauthier, said in a statement:
“Ledger is the #1 choice for serious crypto investors. More than 15% of all crypto assets are secured by the more than 4 million Ledger Nanos sold since 2014. In the past, they would need to move their assets to an exchange, trade, and move back again. Now serious traders and investors can do everything right from the security of their Ledger Nano.”
- The company said it will be suspending its crypto-backed debit card service in the Middle East on 25 August, and in Latin America by 21 September.
- Although no reason was given for the decision, the company noted that “less than 1% of users” in those regions will be affected by the change.
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- Ledger faced backlash from the crypto community last week after announcing its Ledger Recover service, which will allow users to restore their private keys.
- The company has now said that it will delay the launch of Recover until it has open-sourced some core components of its OS and Recover codebase.
- Unnamed sources have said that the company is currently in talks with interested parties to raise at least $100 million in a new funding round.
- The same people noted that Ledger had experienced growth in its business over the past months, as investors turn to cold storage.