Ledger’s latest hardware wallet Stax.
Ledger Enterprise, web3 Security Outfit’s B2B arm, has partnered with Salesforce, TIME and Farfetch.
With over six million devices sold worldwide since launch in 2014, Web3 natives will be familiar with Ledger’s self-custody security solutions.
The company’s hardware wallets — most recently Ledger Stax — allow individuals to offline or cold store the private keys needed to move their assets — or in other words, buy or sell cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
In the long term, this type of self-custody provides a more secure alternative to offloading your key storage to a server managed by an outside organization that could be hacked or mismanaged. To date, Ledger devices have never been hacked.
Ledger Enterprise, the company’s B2B arm, does similar things at a macro level, giving web2-native companies the tools to integrate Web3 technology and help them build the necessary infrastructure to operate securely within the new paradigm.
This month it announced partnerships with Salesforce on the technical side and TIME and Farfetch on the self-custody side.
“It’s all about the scalability factor,” says Alex Zinder, global head of the arm. “Take that experience and scale it with the right governance and compliance tools you need to run a business.”
Examples include crypto treasury management (securely purchasing and storing currency; smart contract creation and minting NFTs to create inventory and ship to a retail customer. “So these massive dives aren’t failing and you’re not losing brand value while you continue around this.” Drive user engagement and adoption,” adds Zinder.
Of course, this mass adoption of Web3 technology is the name of the game. Take cryptocurrency – accepting luxury marketplace Farfetch since October.”
We’re a public company with regulatory requirements,” says Nina Patel, Farfetch Director of Innovation, Retail and Web3, of the need to manage this in a way she believes is “corporate-friendly”.
The self-custodial capability conferred by Ledger as well as the internal governance with multiple approvals for transferring funds met all requirements.
But it was also Ledger’s one-stop-shop capability that proved appealing, Patel said. She had looked at other security solutions like Coinbase for currencies, but that didn’t work for digital assets, which she said often only affected an executive with a wallet.
While specific details on potential upcoming NFT-based projects remain under wraps, Patel says the next phase involves “bridging Web2 and Web3 for fashion and luxury.”
Already in this space, Farfetch ran a pre-order campaign in 2021, where DRESSX created 3D digital assets that were placed on influencers, avoiding the shipping of physical goods, and earlier this year 3D versions of Burberry accessories were created using Threedium. It also acquired the augmented reality outfit Wanna, which is currently integrated into Browns Fashion’s website for virtual fitting of luxury watches.
Farfetch has also partnered with Outlier Ventures for web3 startup accelerator Dream Assembly Basecamp to move the industry forward.
In terms of specific web3-based initiatives, Patel sees the greatest potential in relation to product IDs, provenance and authenticity, as opposed to the digital twin of a product per se.
“We’re asking what additional value blockchain can unlock for individuals,” she says, also pointing to the tokenization of loyalty programs and community building.
“We see it as another revolutionary moment. How Web3 technology can change the game in the same way that the retail marketplace did.”
