Crypto Crime Wave Fuels Demand for Security Devices

The CEO of Ledger, which sells hardware devices resembling USB drives that allow investors to securely store their cryptocurrencies, told the Financial Times (FT) on Sunday (Nov. 9) that it was having its best year ever.

Pascal Gauthier, Ledger’s chief executive, said revenues at the Paris-based company had hit triple-digit millions so far in 2025. 

“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.

Roughly $2.2 billion in crypto was stolen during the first six months of the year, surpassing the entirety of 2024, according to the mid-year update from blockchain data provider Chainalysis. The report also noted that nearly a quarter of the hacks individuals’ wallets, in what Chainalysis described as an “increasingly significant” form of theft.

According to the report, this is down to a range of factors, including improved security at major services, leaving hackers to shift their focus on individuals. There’s also more people investing in crypto, and the fact that crypto prices have climbed much of this year.

North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion worth of crypto tokens from exchange Bybit in February, in the largest such theft in history.

“As we’ve seen a record-setting year in lawful crypto activity, we’ve also seen a record-setting year in unlawful crypto activity,” Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, told the FT.

Gauthier added that the jump in demand for his company’s devices is coming ahead of the usual jump in sales it sees from Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season. Ledger’s offerings include cold storage wallets, which offer crypto holders an alternative to storing their tokens directly on an exchange.

He argued that smartphones and computers were designed for communication and entertainment, rather than security, adding that Ledger’s growth is being driven by “the realization that hackers are getting more aggressive and so you need to upgrade your security.”

Writing about cybersecurity in the crypto world earlier this year, PYMNTS argued that CFOs whose companies are entering the digital asset space needed to rethink the “wait-and-see” approach to security.

“Implementing iron-clad security practices, including multi-signature wallets, cold storage and real-time transaction monitoring, is no longer optional,” that report said.