A prominent hardware crypto wallet has garnered significant attention due to the company’s decision to lay off its staff. On October 5, 2023, Pascal Gauthier, the CEO and Chairman of Ledger (a hardware crypto wallet manufacturer), made a significant announcement that the firm had decided to reduce its workforce by 12%.
However, over the past decade, Ledger has been a prominent player, providing security for 20% of global crypto assets and selling almost 6.5 million Nanos. Nevertheless, it has faced numerous challenges in the ongoing crypto industry, including the 2022 bear market and the collapse of major firms in the crypto industry, such as FTX and Voyager Digital, which have created obstacles for the company’s longevity.
Responding to industry headwinds
Gauthier emphasized the impact of macroeconomic challenges on Ledger’s revenue and stated that the current challenging market conditions necessitated this action. He also expressed the difficulty of the situation, saying, “Sadly, this means we are making the difficult decision to reduce 12% of the roles at Ledger.”
In response to these ongoing challenges and their firm commitment to providing top-notch security, Ledger has laid off 12% of its employees. According to data from LinkedIn, Ledger may have had around 750 employees at the time of writing, and approximately 90 Ledger employees may have lost their jobs.
Recent milestones and partnerships
This decision by Gauthier comes shortly after Ledger’s €100 million fundraising round, which equates to $109 million and gave the firm a billion-dollar valuation of around $1.4 billion. Additionally, on August 7, 2023, Ledger made a significant partnership by integrating its Ledger Live software with PayPal, offering users a secure and seamless way to engage with digital assets, as reported by Todayq News.
It has also been observed that during the collapse of FTX, crypto hardware wallet firms benefited, including Trezor. On November 15, 2022, Trezor reported a staggering 300% surge in revenue.
Due to this challenging situation, several firms across the globe are trimming their workforces. Recently, Epic Games laid off around 830 employees due to metaverse challenges. Additionally, in August 2023, two major Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinSwitch and CoinDCX, trimmed their workforces, as reported by Todayq News.
