- Ledger has launched a new feature to help users gain access to their crypto after losing their recovery seed phrase
- Dubbed ‘Recover,’ the feature is optional and offered as a paid service
- The launch comes despite the feature attracting controversy when announced five months ago
Hardware wallet maker Ledger has officially unveiled ‘Recover,’ a feature that allows users to regain access to their devices after losing their recovery seed phrases. Initially available to Ledger Nano X users, the feature is optional and doesn’t come for free. The launch went ahead despite the crypto community previously pushing back on the idea saying that it beats the reason why one has “a hardware wallet in the first place.”
Ledger Wants to Eradicate Seed Phrases
According to Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier, the feature is meant to bring more people to crypto since the fear of losing wallet seed phrases “stops people from using crypto.”
Let’s be clear: too many people have lost their digital assets because they’ve lost their Secret Recovery Phrase. This risk stops people from using crypto, and certainly from using self-custody.
— Pascal Gauthier @Ledger (@_pgauthier) October 24, 2023
The executive explained that the service encrypts a user’s seed phrase and splits it into three sections that are then stored by third parties. Gauthier added that the feature is secure and its code is publicly available plus it has been built by “the best security team in the world.”
This solution encrypts and splits the entropy of your SRP. The encrypted entropy is then fragmented into three pieces, and these fragments become the backup for your SRP, giving you peace of mind, and letting you stop worrying about getting locked out of your Ledger.
— Pascal Gauthier @Ledger (@_pgauthier) October 19, 2023
Ledger’s CTO Charles Guillemet commented on the feature noting that the company has comprehensively covered all possible attack or misuse corners such as how to securely distribute the seed phrase fragments and how to prevent “backup providers from colluding to reconstruct,” the seed phrase.
Part 3 – “Avoiding Collusions And Leaks,” tackles how we ensure that the shares are stored safely, and how we prevent backup providers from colluding to reconstruct your Secret Recovery Phrase:https://t.co/fzuMqJSS94
— Charles Guillemet (@P3b7_) October 24, 2023
Opposite of Security
The feature, however, is still to get a resounding nod from the community with some thinking that Ledger is contradicting itself since sharing seed phrases with third parties “is the opposite of security.”
Others consider the move as a way for Ledger to conduct know-your-customer (KYC) checks on its users. The launch comes five months after the company postponed the launch due to community backlash and three weeks after the company laid off 12% of its workforce.
With Ledger continuously crashing with the community, it’s to be seen whether it’ll be able to rebuild the trust it once had within the crypto circles.
