By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 24th, 2024
Renowned wallet provider Ledger announced that it is launching a crypto debit card for its US and EU customers to use next year.
Hardware crypto wallet maker Ledger is launching a crypto debit card for customers in the United States and the European Union. According to reports, the Crypto Life card will facilitate crypto payments to over 50 million retailers and online stores. Ledger has also tapped fintech firm Baanx to provide program management as well as infrastructure for the Crypto Life card.
Ledger introduced the Crypto Life card, also known as ‘CL’, at its biannual “Ledger Op3n” conference on Thursday. Furthermore, the wallet and infrastructure provider stated that the product will be available to customers in the UK and Germany in the first quarter of 2022. However, Ledger users in the US may get the CL card in the second quarter.
Ledger’s CL card is the latest among crypto-centric firms looking to leverage the booming digital assets industry. In addition, this initiative also potentially opens the door to wider adoption of payment services using crypto, one which sees crypto deployed more as a medium of exchange, rather than a store of value. In fact, according to Ledger Chief Experience Officer Ian Rogers, the CL card may eventually replace traditional bank accounts.
Application of the Ledger Crypto Life Debit Card
The CL debit card will link to Ledger Live, a mobile and desktop application that performs many functions. This includes allowing Ledger users to buy, swap, and stake various digital currencies. Product users will be able to open a line of credit, using crypto as collateral, to obtain cash to spend on the card. Furthermore, users will be able to deposit their paychecks on the card. Afterwards, each user may choose a percentage of their income to convert into crypto.
According to Ledger, card rates will vary by region and will start as low as 0%. In addition, the company also stipulates that CL will initially support BTC, ETH, USDT, EURT, USDC, XRP, BXX, BCH, and LTC. Ledger will also allow potential users looking to eventually access the card’s features to enroll in an existing waitlist.
Ledger, which is also known for Ledger Nano S and Nano X hardware wallets, raised $380 million in June this year. The company achieved this through a Series C funding round led by digital asset fund 10T Holdings. Ledger’s valuation rose to $1.5 billion planned for expanding its hardware product offerings. Also, Ledger disclosed that it would provide new services for its decentralized finance solutions, and grow its enterprise capabilities.
Other investing participants were Ledger’s preexisting Series B round investors. These include Cathay Innovation, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, Draper Esprit, DCG, and Wicklow Capital. Fresh investors included Tekne Capital, Uphold Ventures, Felix Capital, Inherent, Financiere Agache (Groupe Arnault), and iAngels Technologies.
Ledger had previously generated $7 million in Series A funding back in 2017. In 2018, it conducted a Series B funding round and pulled in $75 million.