After a rough period for investors who keep their funds with centralized exchanges, Ledger is releasing a new hardware wallet called the Ledger Staxx.
The new device costs $279, designed by Tony Fadell, co-creator of the iPhone.
Like its older devices, the new Ledger Staxx is a device that can't hold a token, but instead keeps a person or company's private keys in various wallets.
This kind of device is used in the consumer-preferred segment of what is referred to as cold storage. Ledgers can switch between on-hot and off-line cold storage by connecting by Bluetooth or USB-C to other devices and the company's mobile software.
Users can buy or spend coins by holding a token on a centralized exchange. As some users have found out about several bankruptcies in recent months, centralized exchanges may restrict 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," Pascal Gauthier, Ledger's CEO and chairman, said.
The Kindle-like Ledger Staxx comes with a larger E-ink screen display. This wallet is larger in size than the Ledger Nano, and more in the shape of a thick credit card than a portable USB drive.
The new wallet is intended as a new step in the company's journey to make secure criptocurrency ownership less complicated for a more mainstream customer base.
Users pulled their holdings from exchanges at the quickest rate on record in November due to the collapse of FTX and the eroded confidence in the exchanges, according to data from Glassnode and ARK Invest.
For the rolling 30 day period ending November 30, the net outflows of bitcoin from centralized exchanges averaged 5,870 BTC, according to Glassnode.
On November 10, Ledger faced an overnight server outage due to its platforms' massive usage, according to Charles Guillemet, chief technology officer.
We don't take much 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 cripto exchange business.
Anybody who is doing self-custody using a Ledger device is fine, despite everything that has happened this year, whether it's Celsius or a hack or even during periods of misinformation about otherwise good companies potentially going bankrupt, Rogers said.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. He is interested in the topic of criptocurrency and stock markets.