Yahoo Finance Ledger releases new Kindle-like Stax wallet as exchanges see record bitcoin outflows
After a rough period for crypto investors keeping their funds with centralized crypto exchanges, crypto wallet maker Ledger is releasing a new "hardware wallet" called the Ledger Stax.
Designed by Tony Fadell, co-creator of the iPhone, the new device costs $279.
Like its older devices, the new Ledger Stax is a device which can be kept offline that doesn't hold crypto tokens, but instead maintains a person or company's private keys to various blockchain wallets.
This kind of device is the consumer-preferred segment of what in crypto is referred to as "cold storage." Ledgers can connect by Bluetooth or USB-C to other devices and the company's mobile software, meaning they can change between on- ("hot") and off-line ("cold") storage.
Crypto tokens held at a centralized exchange don't necessarily offer users instant access to buy or spend coins. And as some users have found out amid several crypto bankruptcies in recent months, centralized exchanges may end up restricting access to holdings even more dramatically.
"The time is now for a device for more mainstream users. At the same time, we must not compromise on security," said Pascal Gauthier, Ledger's CEO and chairman.
The Kindle-like Ledger Stax comes with a larger "E-ink" screen display. Unlike the company's most popular wallet, the Ledger Nano, this wallet larger in size and more in the shape of a thick credit card than portable USB drive.
The new wallet is also intended as the latest step in the company's journey to make secure crypto ownership less complicated for a more mainstream customer base.
In November, as FTX collapsed and confidence in crypto exchanges rapidly eroded, users pulled their bitcoin holdings from exchanges at the quickest rate on record, data from blockchain analytics platform Glassnode and ARK Invest show.
Net outflows of bitcoin from centralized exchanges averaged 5,870 BTC for the rolling 30-day period ending November 30, according to Glassnode.
On November 10, Ledger faced an overnight server outage as its platforms saw "massive usage," according to its chief technology officer, Charles Guillemet.
"We don't take any joy in someone else's loss, but this has definitely been good for Ledger" Ian Rogers, Ledger's chief experience officer, told Yahoo Finance, referencing the recent turmoil rocking the crypto exchange business.
"Anybody who is doing self-custody using a Ledger device is fine despite everything that has happened this year, whether its Celsius or a hack or even during periods of misinformation about otherwise good companies potentially going bankrupt," Rogers added.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance covering the cryptocurrency and stock markets. Follow him on Twitter at @DsHollers
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