Cardano Founder Explains His Position on Ledger's Controversial Upgrade

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of IOG, the company that built Cardano blockchain, has taken to Twitter to again comment on the recent move by Ledger, the maker of popular hardware wallets.

He has shared some criteria by which it would be safe for users to choose a hardware cryptocurrency wallet.

Advice on choosing hardware wallets from Hoskinson

The Cardano founder recommended that users always pick a wallet with open source software after it passed many regular audits by multiple auditors. A good wallet, according to Hoskinson, must have "the smallest possible footprint" — that is one of the guarantees of a wallet's security — of assets held in it.

It is also important, he tweeted, that the firmware be unupdateable, especially when its producer makes particular promises about the security model it offers for its devices. Hoskinson added that "decentralizing the process of updates would greatly enhance security."

Ledger announced recently that it is rolling out an upgrade that will allegedly enhance the security of a user's seed phrase as it will be split into three encrypted parts, and it will be possible to send it to three reliable devices to protect it.

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Hoskinson rebukes Ledger for breaking social contracts

The crypto community was shocked and customers began outflowing from the renowned company as the upgrade may give hackers a great opportunity to compromise these wallets and help them steal crypto as a result.

Hoskinson stressed that users take to hardware wallets "to maximize the personal security of their funds" and not for daily use. Hardware wallets, he added, are "the most extreme example of self-custody," and people expect their private keys to stay in one place — in the hardware wallet they buy.

Hoskinson finished his tweet, addressing Ledger: "Don't break social contracts."