how ledger wallets work
ledger offers cold non custodial hardware wallets these multicurrency wallets store private keys offline on a secure hardware device these wallets are device based which means they use storage mechanisms like usb drives to store private keys thereby making it difficult for hackers to access them from an online location the private key is moved to a certified secure chip by the software on the device and ledger s application the company offers three different hardware wallets the ledger nano s plus the ledger nano x and the ledger stax these hardware wallets work with the ledger live app which the owner uses to access the keys and purchase and manage your crypto all transactions that are executed must be authorized by the user these storage wallets let you perform various functions including sending and receiving cryptocurrency and using two factor authentication 2fa applications 2all ledger products combine a secure element and a proprietary operating system designed specifically to protect a user s cryptocurrency assets they generate a 24 word 96 character backup recovery phrase to access your cryptocurrencies if the device is lost or stolen for the extra cautious the 24 word phrase can be etched into steel in a billfodl which holds seed phrases or keys in a sturdy physical form 3types of ledger walletsledger s first product was the ledger nano s introduced in 2016 4 the ledger nano s was eventually replaced with three other products the ledger nano s plus the ledger nano x and the ledger stax the ledger nano s plus is referred to by ledger as a nano s on steroids 4 the nano s plus resembles a portable usb device with a usb c connection it allows users to manage more than 5 500 digital assets with enough memory to install up to 100 apps the company says it is compatible with more than 5 000 coins and non fungible tokens nfts the ledger nano s plus is compatible with mac windows and android devices 5the unit retails for 79 usd 5ledger introduced the nano x in 2019 6 this is a usb type device that like every other ledger device keeps the owner s crypto coins and nfts offline it is bluetooth enabled and has a usb c connection this device works with macos windows ios and android it has the capacity for more than 5 500 different tokens and users can have up to 100 different apps the ledger nano x retails for 149 usd 7you may be required to purchase additional items to use your devices such as the on the go kit to connect to a mobile device the ledger stax is a portable storage device designed by ledger to store cryptocurrency assets it is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand users can name their stax and the lock screen can be customized like a smartphone some of the features include this device supports more than 5 000 coins and nfts as with all ledger devices it comes with a secure element chip 8the unit retails for 279 usd 