Ledger and Coinbase join forces to make it easier to buy cryptos

A win-win tie-up. The two giants of the crypto industry, Ledger and Coinbase, have just announced a partnership this Tuesday to allow Ledger Live users to buy cryptos directly in the French unicorn's management application via the US exchange platform.

Previously, Ledger users had to go to Coinbase themselves and then transfer the cryptos to Ledger Live. An operation that potentially exposed them to a loss of funds in the event of mishandling. With this integration, that risk disappears.

This simple option comes at no extra cost, as Ledger tells us, and is commission-free.

A strategic partnership for both companies

Beyond the practical aspect, this integration illustrates two things.

The first is the affirmation of Ledger's pivot towards software (read our survey on the subject). For many years, the company, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, had concentrated on hardware via the sale of its "Nano" products. A business that does not create recurring revenue because the hardware is rarely renewed.

"By the end of 2023, we have reached a business mix where all the software services (Ledger Live and others) represent a significant part of our revenue, and above all the margin", Pascal Gauthier explained to The Big Whale last week.

According to our information, sales of hardware wallets still remain the main source of revenue for the company. But that from additional services continues to grow.

Currently, Ledger claims to secure 20% of the world's crypto-assets (and 30% of NFTs), or more than $200 billion in assets.

The second is Ledger's attractiveness, which remains intact even as questions about the unicorn's financial health and bad news have been piling up for several months. The fact that it has joined forces with Coinbase, a company that is clearly emerging as the big winner of 2023 among centralised exchange platforms. It now claims more than 100 million users, means a lot.

For Coinbase, which obtained its registration as a digital asset service provider (DASP) at the end of December in France, this partnership also illustrates the expansion strategy of the platform, which has now been accelerating in Europe for several months and will significantly strengthen its presence in France.