French cryptocurrency storage startup Ledger raises $75 million

The Ledger team.Ledger

• Ledger raises $75 million from Draper Espirit, FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovations, and Korelya Capital.
• The Paris-based company makes hardware for your to store cryptocurrencies offline with.

LONDON — Venture capital fund Draper Espirit has led a $75 million (£54 million; €61 million) investment round into cryptocurrency storage company Ledger.

Paris-based Ledger makes so-called “cold storage” devices for cryptocurrencies, allowing people to store their digital assets on offline hardware away from the reach of hackers.

Founded in 2014, the company has sold over 1 million of these devices since launch and is already profitable. Ledger’s products start at €94.

Ledger’s storage products.Ledger

FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Korelya Capital also took part in the $75 million Series B investment. Ledger’s valuation has not been disclosed in the round.

Matt Turck, managing director at FirstMark Capital, said: “Considering the massive amounts of money flowing into the ecosystem, there is no more pressing need at this stage than a bullet-proof security infrastructure.”

CEO Eric Larchevêque said in a release announcing the deal: “These funds will be used to keep investing significantly in R&D while scaling our operations and deploying our teams globally.”

Ledger plans to launch a new product pitched at financial institutions, the Ledger Vault, that will “enable banks, hedge funds and family offices to manage their crypto assets,” it said in a statement.

Draper Esprit CEO Simon Cook said: “Blockchain, as evidenced by crypto assets, is a truly revolutionary technology. Security will be paramount to its success and we believe that Ledger has built the world’s best security platform to manage private keys for all blockchain and crypto asset applications.”