Timing, as they say, is everything in finance—and Ledger’s announcement of a US IPO within three years arrives at a peculiar moment when crypto infrastructure companies are suddenly discovering that profitability and regulatory compliance might actually matter to public market investors.
CEO Pascal Gauthier’s “It’s in the US or no IPO” stance reflects a pragmatic recognition that American capital markets remain the only viable stage for legitimizing crypto enterprises seeking institutional credibility.
American markets represent the singular pathway for crypto companies to achieve the institutional legitimacy that validates their public ambitions.
The French hardware wallet manufacturer’s trajectory reads like a masterclass in sustainable business building—a concept apparently foreign to much of the crypto sector until recently. Having sold 8 million devices priced between €79 and €399 while securing over 20% of global crypto assets, Ledger has maintained profitability since 2014 through what amounts to revolutionary thinking: actually generating revenue that exceeds expenses.
Their hybrid model, where software services now contribute half of total revenue alongside hardware sales, demonstrates the kind of diversified income streams that public market investors find reassuringly familiar.
The company’s $575 million in funding across six rounds, culminating in a $1.4 billion valuation, positions it favorably among potential 2025 IPO candidates. With backing from Samsung, Digital Currency Group, and 65 other institutional investors, Ledger enjoys the kind of blue-chip support that translates into IPO credibility—assuming market conditions cooperate and regulatory frameworks don’t shift dramatically. The company’s ambitious long-term valuation target of $100 billion underscores the scale of opportunity Gauthier envisions for secure hardware infrastructure beyond traditional crypto applications.
Ledger’s public listing could catalyze broader institutional adoption of crypto custody solutions while establishing transparency benchmarks for the hardware wallet sector. The company’s expansion beyond crypto into cybersecurity signals ambitions that extend well past the current market’s boundaries, potentially appealing to investors seeking exposure to digital asset infrastructure without betting exclusively on cryptocurrency adoption rates. This strategic diversification is particularly compelling given Ledger’s enterprise-level encryption methods that distinguish its devices from competitors in the hardware wallet space. The company’s timing aligns with the industry’s shift toward regulatory clarity, as crypto businesses increasingly prioritize compliance to attract traditional investors.
Should Ledger successfully navigate public markets, it might inspire fellow crypto firms—Kraken, BitGo, Consensys—to pursue similar paths, contributing to the anticipated crypto IPO wave.
More importantly, a successful Ledger IPO would demonstrate that crypto infrastructure companies can achieve traditional business metrics while serving an emerging asset class, thereby bridging the gap between speculative crypto ventures and established technology enterprises that institutional investors actually understand.
