Samsung has invested 2.6 million euro (around $2.9 million) into Ledger, a French cryptocurrency company best known for its hardware wallet Ledger Nano S.
French media outlet Capital was the first to report the news, and Ledger’s CEO Eric Larchevêque confirmed the report shortly after on Twitter.
According to Mashable, Ledger’s latest product is the Ledger Nano X, a Bluetooth-enabled version of Ledger’s popular Nano S. This improved version boasts wireless connectivity, a larger screen, support for additional crypto assets and faster speed.
In his tweet, Larchevêque noted that while hardware wallets are still needed, the smartphone will play a “central role” in the crypto market.
The Samsung investment puts Ledger’s valuation at 260 million euros ($290 million).
The news comes after it was reported that Samsung is working on its own blockchain-based network, as well as a cryptocurrency token called Samsung Coin. And earlier this year the company presented its first blockchain partners for its Galaxy S10 smartphone during the Samsung Mobile Business Summit session at MWC Barcelona 2019, “with the world’s most popular smartphone maker confirming that it will support bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmee and Enjin, together with a range of decentralized apps (dApps).”
In addition, the Galaxy S10 will feature an in-built crypto wallet, with the South Korea-based company indicating it plans to add more cryptocurrency support to the device in the future.
“The smartphone era is riddled with cautionary tales of how ignoring emerging trends can have severe consequences in the tech sector,” according to a report from Best Bitcoin Exchange. “The failure to recognize the upcoming paradigm shift caused many of the phone giants of the pre-smartphone era, such as Nokia and Motorola, [to fail to] catch the market leaders.”
The Samsung cryptocurrency move comes as the company has faced declining profits. For the first quarter of 2019, profits declined nearly 60 percent compared to last year.
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