by Stax, Ledger’s latest hardware cold storage wallet.
Ledger Enterprise, the B2B arm of the Web3 security team, has partnered with Salesforce, TIME, and Farfetch.
With over six million devices sold worldwide since its launch in 2014, web3 natives will be familiar with Ledger’s self-surveillance security solutions.
The team’s hardware wallets – the latest Ledger Stax – allow individuals to store offline or cold store the private keys needed to move their assets, or in other words, to buy and sell cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
Long and short, this type of self-retention offers a safer alternative to having your key stored on a server managed by an external organization that could be hacked or mismanaged. To date, Ledger devices have never been hacked.
Ledger Enterprise, the group’s B2B arm, does the same at the macro level, giving web2 local companies the tools to integrate web3 technology, helping them create the infrastructure necessary to operate securely in the new paradigm.
This month, it announced partnerships with Salesforce on the tech side and TIME and Farfetch on self-oversight.
“It’s about the scalability factor,” says Alex Zinder, Global Head of the Arm. “Taking and scaling these experiences with the right governance and compliance tools you need to run a business.”
Examples include cryptocurrency treasury management (buying and holding currency securely; smart contract creation and printing NFTs to create inventory and deliver to retail consumers). “So these big drops don’t fail and you don’t lose brand value while continuing to drive user engagement and adoption,” adds Zinder.
This mass adoption of Web3 technology is, of course, the name of the game. Take cryptocurrency, the luxury marketplace that Farfetch began accepting in October.
We are a publicly traded company with regulatory requirements on the need to manage it in a way she sees as “fit for business”, says Nina Patel, Director of Innovation, Retail and Web3 at Farfetch.
The self-oversight capability provided by Ledger as well as the internal governance with multiple approvals on the transfer of funds ticked all the boxes.
But Patel said it’s also Ledger’s one-stop talent that proves his appeal. He had looked at other security solutions for the currency, such as Coinbase, but that didn’t work for digital assets, which he said often involved an administrator with a wallet.
While specific details about potential upcoming NFT-based projects remain confidential, Patel says the next phase involves “bridging web2 and web3 for fashion and luxury.”
Already in the field, Farfetch ran a pre-order campaign in 2021. It has also purchased augmented reality outfit Wanna, now integrated into the Browns Fashion site, for a virtual trial of luxury watches.
Farfetch has also partnered with Outlier Ventures at web3 startup accelerator Dream Assembly Basecamp to help drive the industry forward.
In terms of specific web3-based initiatives, Patel sees the greatest potential around product identities, origin, and authenticity as opposed to a product’s digital twin on its own.
“We ask what additional value blockchain can unlock for the individual,” he says, referring to the tokenization of loyalty programs and community building.
“We see this as another revolutionary moment. How can Web3 technology change the game for retail the way the market does?
