Seed recovery via the cloud? That’s not Bitcoin — that’s surveillance.
Ledger used to be one of the most trusted hardware wallet brands. For years, Bitcoiners recommended it to beginners as a secure way to hold their keys offline.
But in 2023, Ledger crossed a line that can’t be uncrossed: it introduced Ledger Recover, a “feature” that backs up your private seed phrase by encrypting and uploading it to third-party servers.
☁️ The Problem: Cloud Backup = Centralized Risk
Ledger Recover splits your seed phrase into encrypted fragments and sends them to outside custodians “for safekeeping.”
That defeats the entire purpose of a hardware wallet — keeping your private keys offline and under your exclusive control.
When your seed phrase leaves your device — even in pieces — you’ve given up the very sovereignty Bitcoin is built on.
🔒 Closed Source = Blind Trust
Ledger’s firmware is not fully open source, meaning no one can independently verify what’s running on the device.
That creates a serious trust problem.
If Ledger can add a cloud backup feature through a firmware update, what else could they add in the future?
Without transparency, there’s no guarantee that your private keys can’t be accessed — either by the company itself or by government pressure.
Bitcoin security depends on verifiability, not promises.
🧱 The Betrayal of Trust
Ledger spent years building its reputation on privacy and security, only to introduce a feature that undermines both.
Worse, the company tried to spin the backlash as a misunderstanding instead of acknowledging the core issue:
you can’t promote self-custody while shipping firmware that violates it.
💩 Shitcoin Support = Needless Complexity
Ledger’s devices don’t just support Bitcoin — they support hundreds of altcoins and tokens, each with their own rules, dependencies, and vulnerabilities.
That kind of complexity makes the codebase far more difficult to secure or audit properly.
While Ledger did later release a so-called “Bitcoin-only” version, skepticism is warranted.
Given the company’s past behavior and closed-source nature, there’s no reason to assume this version is fundamentally different or more trustworthy.
If a company builds for every coin under the sun, it’s not building for Bitcoin’s principles — it’s building for profit.
🧠 Better Alternatives Exist
For real Bitcoin cold storage, look at devices like Coldcard, SeedSigner, or Foundation Passport.
They’re Bitcoin-only, open source, and built with one principle: you hold your keys — nobody else.
🚫 Verdict: Certified Trash
Ledger took a self-custody device and turned it into a cloud product.
Closed source code, cloud backups, and a bloated multi-coin ecosystem are the antithesis of Bitcoin security.
We’d be happy to change our view on Ledger if they became open source and proved to the world what’s in their code.
Until then, we’ll stay clear — and we suggest you do too.