As a reminder, Ledger hardware wallets store users’ private keys on a chip that is not connected to the internet. This allows it to keep an important combination off the net and thus protect itself from online hackers.

Previously, we’ve shared a guide on how to interact with Ledger devices. For example, here we talked about setting up the Ledger Nano S Plus, and here we shared instructions for steaking Solana (SOL) with the Ledger Live app.

Why get in touch with Bitcoin?

Gauthier shared his thoughts in an interview with Joseph Hall, a reporter for Cointelegraph. Here’s one of his quotes.

Bitcoin was created as a reaction to the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the 2008 crisis. It was developed because central government could not be trusted. Bitcoin was created because it was clear that centralised governance would fail. It is not a question of “if”. It is more a question of “when”.

Gauthier said that after crisis events like the collapse of the Celsius ledger platform, cryptocurrency exchange FTX and banks, investors are more inclined to move their capital into cryptocurrencies. His idea is that the Celsius and FTX platforms were centralised, i.e. managed by certain people. In contrast, Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies operate according to their own protocol.

Of course, changes can be made to it, but they must be supported by most of the network’s nodes. Which means protection from potential influence of governments and bureaucrats is really there.

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In addition, the Ledger executive believes that due to the current situation, people are starting to notice the reality of the banks’ situation. Many people assume that the purpose of the banking system is to preserve customer funds, because even if banks fail, deposit holders should be compensated. However, this perception is far from reality. He continues.

It turns out that this is not actually the case. But then again, this is an extra confirmation that Bitcoin investors are right.

Why isn't it so? First of all, in the case of direct government assistance to the bank, that assistance would be provided with taxpayers' money. If the government wants to inject money into the economy, this money could be created out of thin air, which would increase the supply of fiat currencies in circulation and thus make them less valuable. Well this will lead to a general rise in prices, which will also have a negative impact on ordinary people.

During the interview the head of Ledger also touched the topic of Web3, that is the modern blockchain-based internet, which makes the user, not the technological giants like Apple or Google. In his view, the emergence of many traditional brands in this sphere will not lead to its centralisation.

If it does, cryptocurrencies will die and then we will move on to something new. So crypto will either be decentralised or not. And all these brands actually realise that.

The banking crisis has another likely consequence – it could make it much more difficult to regulate the crypto industry. This opinion was shared the day before by the CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, the company that issues USDC stablcoin. Here’s his quote on the matter.

Currently, traders and investors are moving to platforms without regulatory oversight and with completely opaque banks and poor financial risk and integrity controls. This is not going to end well.

In addition, US cryptocurrencies will suffer more damage than those hosted in other jurisdictions. Jeremy continues.

Ironically, the market players that have had the strongest exposure to US regulation and integration of the US banking system are considered “insecure”. There are fears that their assets could become stranded.


By strong players, Jeremy is clearly referring to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, which has been banned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission from providing staking to Americans. The platform was also ordered to pay a $30 million fine.

Now Coinbase may find itself in a similar position, having received the relevant notice from the regulator the day before. Read more about the strange story in a separate article.


Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino also commented on the topic of economic hardship. According to him, Bitcoin’s key advantages have become clear in the wake of the recent banking crisis in the US, which included the temporary loss of USD Coin Stablecoin (USDC) parity against the dollar. Ardoino insists that the issuers of stablcoin should first and foremost be concerned about the safety of their reserves.

The decoupling of USDC from the dollar itself came after Circle executives said they had locked up some of their reserves following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Although SVB clients were promised a full refund, the news caused panic among investors – they began selling USDC in droves, which led to the collapse of its price to a low of 87 cents.

To prevent this from happening again, Ardoino advises all such companies to pay attention to their reserves in the first place. Here’s his quote from an interview with Cointelegraph.

I think our competitor’s mistake was leaving $3 billion or more in the bank uninsured. And I was surprised at the lack of understanding of risk management among large competitors in this area.

Also, over-reliance on one jurisdiction, which in this case was the US, can cause big problems. In the end it did – Circle ended up being too dependent on US banks and regulators, Ardoino said. He continues.

It is extremely important for us to rely on different jurisdictions. There is more security in decentralisation.

Although Circle is a competitor for Tether, Ardoino believes that a complete failure of USDC would be bad news for his company. Tether’s USDT stackcoin should not remain a one-of-a-kind major asset within the industry. It kills decentralisation and hurts the image of crypto-assets.

We believe that the benefits of fully centralised cryptocurrencies will indeed become more apparent to those unfamiliar with the industry. Most importantly, the events of 2022 have also proven the need for storing coins in non-custodial wallets, i.e. outside of centralised platforms. The use of such solutions will indeed allow for a long interaction with crypto without fear of hackers. And it will ensure the success of digital assets in general.