The co-founder of Ledger has responded to the recent controversy surrounding the OTA firmware update, dubbed Ledger Recover. In the face of fierce criticism from the crypto community and concerns about seed phrase sharing, the company has ensured that there is no backdoor in their product and that the integrity of the hardware wallet’s security remains intact.
Éric Larchevêque denies concerns about Ledger Recover-Update
The Ledger Recover update has caused a split within the crypto community. The update allows users to back up their seed phrases with third parties, but this is an option, not an obligation. Despite this, the announcement of this OTA firmware update has alarmed many Ledger users who see it as a reliable solution for storing their cryptocurrencies.
Éric Larchevêque, co-founder and former CEO of Ledger, acknowledges that the announcement has not gone smoothly PR-wise, but argues that there was no technical error. Larchevêque emphasizes that Ledger has always been designed as a partially trusted system and trust in Ledger is crucial when using their products.
In an extensive post on Reddit Larchevêque elaborates on the concerns of users. He assures that the Ledger Recover update does not make any changes to the existing security model of the Ledger hardware wallet. According to him, the only change is users’ perception of trust. He expressly confirms that there is no back door and that the Ledger Recover service is not part of any conspiracy. Users have complete freedom whether or not to use this new service.
Nano S Remains Outside Ledger Recover Update; GridPlus Turns Controversy into Transparency Initiative
Ledger’s most affordable hardware wallet, the Nano S, will not be able to support the recent firmware update. This is due to the fact that the chipset used does not have enough memory capacity to accommodate the new firmware, which excludes Nano S users from the Ledger Recover service.
In the wake of the commotion surrounding Ledger’s firmware update, competitor GridPlus, a hardware wallet provider, has decided to open up its own firmware to its users. In a savvy marketing strategy, which takes the lead from the Ledger controversy, GridPlus announced that they will open-source their device firmware in the third quarter of 2023. This move is intended to provide greater transparency and insight to their users.