Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier said in an interview with Bloomberg that no company in the digital asset sector can guarantee absolute security. According to him, cyberattacks will become increasingly larger in scale, and the development of AI and quantum computing will create additional threats for the industry.
In the interview, the company head also commented on the recent hacks of Binance and Ledger hardware wallets, assessed the advantages of decentralized asset storage, and spoke about new developments in the field of security.
Gauthier noted that the Binance hack, as a result of which attackers stole about $6 billion, once again demonstrated the risks of centralized storage of cryptocurrencies.
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According to him, the very concept of bitcoin presupposes abandoning the need to trust funds to a single intermediary. At the same time, the Ledger head emphasized that centralized platforms remain a necessary part of the cryptocurrency market.
"You shouldn't keep all your money in a centralized organization, because sooner or later it will fail," Gauthier said.
He also drew attention to the irreversible nature of transactions on the blockchain. Unlike the traditional banking system, it is often impossible to return stolen crypto assets.
Gauthier believes that the decentralized protection model remains a more reliable alternative to centralized solutions. As confirmation, he cited loss statistics, which, by his estimate, amount to about 0.01% of the value of assets protected by Ledger.
At the same time, the company head acknowledged that it is impossible to completely eliminate the probability of a hack.
"Sooner or later everyone will be hacked. Absolute security does not exist. This rule applies both to Ledger and to other companies," he emphasized.
According to Gauthier's estimate, last year attackers stole $9 billion worth of cryptocurrency, and since the beginning of the current year the amount has already reached $12 billion.
The Ledger head warned that artificial intelligence expands hackers' capabilities, and the development of quantum technologies may in the future put certain cryptographic protection mechanisms at risk.
At the same time, he called on market participants to join forces to counter criminals, rather than placing all responsibility for incidents on the affected companies.
What happened with Ledger hardware wallets
In October 2026, Ledger announced an investigation into reports of the theft of more than $86 million from owners of hardware wallets purchased through the reseller CryptoBilis in Southeast Asia.
Subsequently, the company discovered an unauthorized electronic component in one of the devices of affected users. According to the investigation, the modification allowed seed phrases to be intercepted directly during the initial setup of the wallet.
In particular, inside the Ledger Nano X, a 2×2 mm microchip was found connected to the screen's data transmission lines. It could store the 24-word recovery phrase and transmit it to attackers via a cellular modem with a SIM card and antenna. At the same time, the device's main secure chip continued to work, so the authenticity check could complete successfully.
Against the backdrop of the investigation, the vulnerability of the Ethereum app for Ledger version 1.22.1, previously reported by OneKey founder Yishi Wang, was also discussed. It allowed a transaction to be substituted during signing, as a result of which the user could see one operation but actually confirm another. This case was not established as the cause of the October theft.
Commenting on what happened, Gauthier acknowledged the seriousness of the attack but emphasized that its scale must be assessed relative to the total volume of funds the company protects.
According to him, losses of about $90 million amount to approximately 0.01% of the value of assets under the protection of Ledger solutions. He believes that hardware wallets will continue to provide a higher level of security compared with centralized platforms.
Gauthier also spoke about the development of Ledger Atom — a new device with a secure screen, with shipments planned for July 2027.
According to him, the product already includes measures to counter attacks similar to the one the company faced in October.
The Ledger head explained that traditional smartphones do not allow users to reliably verify the authenticity of the displayed information. With the development of AI, this problem becomes especially relevant.
The new technology is intended to ensure the protection of information at all stages of interaction with the device, including the display of data on the screen.
"Security never sleeps. It constantly evolves. It is necessary to improve protection as attackers improve their attacks," Gauthier concluded.
He added that Ledger solutions are aimed not only at protecting cryptocurrencies but also at ensuring the confidentiality of other sensitive user data.