Investors worried about crypto hacks are driving record demand for hardware wallets that store digital assets offline.
Summary
- Investors buy hardware wallets as crypto hacks hit record highs in 2025.
- Ledger sees triple-digit million revenue amid rising thefts from exchanges.
- Physical attacks and kidnappings target crypto holders alongside digital hacks.
As per a report by the Financial Times, Ledger, which sells USB-style devices for secure cryptocurrency storage, is having its best year yet with revenues hitting triple-digit millions in 2025.
About $2.2 billion worth of crypto was stolen in the first half of this year, more than was taken in the whole of 2024.
The surge in thefts has pushed investors toward cold storage solutions offered by companies like Ledger, Trezor, and Tangem as alternatives to holding tokens directly on exchanges.
Crypto hacks target individuals at record levels
About 23% of hacks targeted individuals’ wallets in the first half of 2025, according to data firm Chainalysis. The firm called this an “increasingly significant” form of theft as crypto prices hit new record highs.
North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion worth of crypto from exchange Bybit in February, marking the biggest heist ever. “As we’ve seen a record-setting year in lawful crypto activity, we’ve also seen a record-setting year in unlawful crypto activity,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs.
Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier told the Financial Times that hack attacks are becoming more common. “We’re being hacked more and more every day… hacking of your bank accounts, of your crypto, and it’s not going to get better next year and the year after that,” he said.
Ledger was valued at $1.5 billion in 2023 after raising money from investors, including 10T Holdings and Singapore’s True Global Ventures.
Physical attacks rise alongside digital thefts
Rising crypto prices have caused increased criminality around crypto holders. Kidnappings have become more common as criminals try to physically seize traders’ funds.
Ledger’s own co-founder and his wife were kidnapped in France earlier this year. Chainalysis warned that rising crypto prices will probably cause “additional opportunistic physical attacks against known crypto holders.”
